2006

Smart card technology used to advance the traditional medical insurance card into a multipurpose card so to assist in access, registration and payment for members. Not only does it combine three existing insurance cards (medical, dental, drug), it can store relevant personal information.

Industry Situation

Industry and Technology Convergence

The convergence produces a sweet spot of opportunity to many industries. Each industry will gain entry into this new market because of the expanded opportunities. This may cause confusion by the consumer as to which card to acquire.

Figure 1 – Convergence and the Sweet Spot

Vendors with the most complete and attractive offer may win the minds of the consumer. Since consumers are also happy to cut down on the number of cards in their possession, a single card to perform multiple functions is desirable. Many businesses are aiming toward a single card to perform multiple functions to cut costs and to increase revenue opportunities. Cards with added capabilities will provide vendors the ability to sell real estate on their card for additional revenue streams. New services can be offered by the card provider to further increase revenue.

Analysis based on observations

Europe is ahead of US based smart card deployment in the health care sector by 2 to 3 years. We can gain insight by reviewing their progress and doing it better. European solutions focus on identity, demographics, and PHR data.

There have been attempts to pilot smart cards for debit transactions and health ID in the US since 2003/2004. Typically smart cards in the health care sector have focused on financial transaction processing or ID/health plan/medical data applications or both. There is no evidence that a vendor or health provider is looking at a complete solution set covering financial transactions, PHR, EMR, wellness tracking, and life management. A complete solution including wellness tracking, identification, scheduling, location tracking, and a portable PHR would provide United with a differentiator.

Smart cards offer the most secure access, transaction processing, and data storage over other technologies. Smart cards and supporting applications move closer to removing paper from transactions. Using a reliable, secure medium such as smart cards, helps to reduce identification mistakes, reduce medical errors, reduce redundant tests, increase information availability and sharing among medical professionals, and reduce billing errors. Adding biometric data decreases mistakes in identity and fraud.

Hospitals, clinics, and large practices already equipped with smart card systems pose another dilemma. United needs to acquire real estate on the smart cards and in-house systems so United can provide our required services. Without standards in the industry, alliances must be made to ensure usability and interoperability over a large customer base and set of applications and services.

Active RFID seems to be the favored technology in the health care sector with the greatest return, but privacy, standards, and adoption issues exist at present. These early adoption issues will dissipate as the benefits of that technology and solutions surface.

Pilot

Considerations

Some smart card pilot candidates use a combination of magnetic stripe, contact microchips, and active RFID. From the research and observations below, a hybrid card will allow health care providers to use the card across multiple card processing systems since one card type may not fit all systems in use at health care providers. If United adopts the hybrid mode of reading and accessing multiple smart card technologies, we gain an advantage as the common data point for all health smart cards. This approach is more costly.

The technology of choice should be one that enables all present specified services and allows for expansion to evolve to more advanced solutions if United wishes to keep the card in the field for many years to gain maximum value from card deployment. To provide the right solution supporting standard requirements for smart cards across United, a list of services needs to be gathered and assessed as the first step. The recommendation for standard requirements should account for the company strategy, service requirements, health care provider requirements, and pilot partner limitations and requirements. If we use the vendor funded method for a pilot, much will be determined by the vendor and their relationship with the health care providers. If we use a United funded method for the pilot, we have more control on the pilot requirements.

Pilot Approach

Pilot planning is split into two sections. The first is the design stage that organizes all aspects of the pilot and provides a baseline for understanding to all pilot participants. The second is the deployment stage that executes on the design resulting in a carefully controlled pilot.

Phase I Design

1. Define pilot scope
2. Define the pilot group
3. Create the pilot plan

Phase II Deployment

1. Prepare the pilot
2. Test the deployment process
3. Deploy and test the pilot
4. Evaluate the pilot

Figure 2 – Pilot planning diagram

The Pilot Scope

Key Objectives

Manage a small pilot sample that will be discreet and operate under a low profile. Choose a progressive hospital with a track record for adopting new processes and technologies to ensure maximum success.

• Identify problems, opportunities, processes, and issues moving to smart card use.
• Understand issues: of adoption, accuracy, privacy, automatic, and simplified transactions
• Understand technical issues of  available technologies, systems, security, information transfer, network processing, data extraction, access mechanisms
• Fortify UnitedHealth Group’s position as an innovative leader.

Exante’s direction, objectives, and expectations

Exante direction: To be a dominant leader in financial health accounts for UHG and non-UHG payers with a 30% market share by 2009.

• Create a standardized smart card offer for United
• Support the following applications and services:
  • HSA debit transaction processing (?)
  • Eligibility applications using a smart card (?)
  • Access to basic PHR data (?)
  • MasterCard credit line (?)
• Fold into the Integrated Card Project (?)

United’s Value to Employers and Healthcare Providers

Value and benefits are determined by the services offered to customers. By offering financial transaction services, identity services, and basic PHR services, the following benefits can be realized:

• Single card solution to eliminate confusion and reduce card costs
• Accurate consumer identification at patient care areas
• Faster check in/out for enhanced consumer experience
• Less mistakes in consumer information and records
• Reduction of medical errors due to more accurate information that is delivered faster
• Accurate billing and care with accessible eligibility information

Requirements to move forward

Create and lock down on the pilot’s objectives, expectations, funding, and features.

Secure funding for pilot

• Option 1: (preferred) Internally driven pilot and identify customer base willing to contribute
• Option 2: Vendor driven pilot that best aligns to United’s objectives
• Option 3:  Fold in Integrated Card pilot since it is funded and choose a customer base with features aligned to United’s direction

Secure resources to work the pilot planning, development, deployment, and evaluation

• Smart Card solution vendor(s)
• Willing consumers/employers
• Exante FS support
• UT support for integrating into backend systems, portals, and applications
• Innovation Lab support
• Pilot expectations

Identify pilot participant opportunities and contact information

• Siemens and Mt Sinai (?)
• IBM and BellSouth (?)
• IBM internal unified card (?)
• Integrated card project (?)
• BellSouth (?)
• Parco and MedStar (?)

Competitive and Launch Observations

Visa, Blue Cross and Blue Shield to offer health debit cards

Visa and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association are partnering to offer a co-branded health debit card for health related costs.[1]

German companies to test electronic health cards

A German health care and insurance group and T-systems international GmbH, the IT services arm of Deutsche Telekom AG, on Monday launched a pilot to test electronic health cards once year before the German government’s mandate to introduce the technology. T-Systems and Bundesknappschaft hope to provide electronic cards to 20,000 patients and 75 physicians in the first quarter of 2006.[2]

Germany to issue electronic health cards

The German government has announced that it will begin issuing electronic health cards by January 2006 to customers of every health insurer in the country, the BMJ reports. The health ministry expects the system to improve efficiency and save up to $1.7 billion in three years.

The patient information on Germany’s health card will come in two parts. The administrative part contains data on patients’ insurance status, their rights to be treated abroad and their prescriptions. The optional medical part contains only information that patients approve, such as drugs they take, emergency data, previous operations or their personal health documentation.[3]

Europe launches Smart Cards

Thirteen European countries last week introduced smart cards to replace the paper-based reciprocal health agreements used to provide citizens’ health insurance and personal information when they travel to other member countries, E-Health Insider reports. The European Health Insurance Cards contain chips that connect to a server in the cardholder’s home country.

The server will store information such as name, address and next-of-kin. Basic medical information may also be included. For emergency purposes, contact information will be displayed on the front of the card. The cards should reduce costs and provide easy, equal treatment in participating member countries, according to the Netc@rds Consortium, which is managing the initiative (E-Health Insider, 6/1).

Currently, citizens of EU nations must travel with an E-111 document, which verifies that the holder is entitled to free or reduced-cost emergency medical treatment in EU member states (iHealthBeat, 2/3).

The 13 initial countries include Belgium, Ireland, Spain, Estonia and Slovenia. The United Kingdom will join in 18 months, when it stops using paper forms. The United Kingdom plans to begin working on proposals to integrate the cards with its national IT project. The European Union hopes to have 167 million cards in circulation by 2006.[4]

Pennsylvania health system to offer online registration, smart cards to members

A Pennsylvania health system this summer will begin piloting an online scheduling system that lets patients pre-register for lab tests, outpatient surgery and radiology appointments, and standard physician appointments. Heritage Valley Health System is introducing the system as part of a $40 million, eight-year plan that the system initiated in 1997, with the ultimate goal of being “completely wired” by 2005, according to CEO Norman Mitry. Heritage Valley also plans to expand a smart card program by issuing “Care Cards,” which will facilitate online access to patients’ medical information, to the system’s 100,000 customers next year. Approximately 7,000 Heritage Valley employees and their dependents began using the cards in January. The cards will let patients register for appointments and procedures at self-service kiosks that will be installed next year in registration areas at the system’s hospitals and in waiting rooms at physician offices.

Use of the smart cards and kiosks will eliminate the need for patients to complete about four pages of paperwork before each appointment. Health system officials expect the project to ease the workload for registration clerks and streamline administrative functions throughout the system.

Heritage Valley has spent approximately $1 million on the online scheduling system, and officials anticipate spending $3 million to $5 million more on the kiosks and the smart cards. Heritage Valley Health System is a two-hospital health system that includes 40 physician offices and 15 satellite clinics.[5]

Health information card project moves forward in Nebraska

Several Nebraska hospitals will install software to read smart cards that store patients’ medical information and can be accessed by a handheld computer, the Omaha World-Herald reports. The Health Data Card could be used to access a patient’s identification, basic medical history, insurance, allergies and the names and numbers of a person’s doctor and emergency contacts.

The retail price of the card is $65 to $75, but large groups could pay less than $30 each. The company is talking to insurance companies, employers and other groups and hopes to issue 100,000 cards in the next year, the World-Herald reports. HDC is distributing the software to medical providers for free, which will be covered by revenue from the card sales, said Dr. Daniel Dietrich, one of the company’s founders. The card-reading devices cost about $30 to $50.

The success of the cards will depend on getting them in circulation and making them worthwhile for providers, patients and insurers, said Robin Kammandel, executive director of the Metropolitan Omaha Medical Society. Doctor’s offices may not have time to sell the cards to patients, and it is unclear whether insurers, employers or consumers will buy them, Kammandel said.

Dietrich came up with the idea for the card based, in part, on his experiences as a patient. Dietrich said he continually had to repeat his medical information to providers, and once forgot to mention his penicillin allergy when he was groggy with medication. He tested the system by giving cards to his patients and placing card readers with other physicians.[6]

Cool reception for VeriChip reflects hospitals’ concerns about smart cards

While smart cards have been used for “more than a decade” in Europe to store patients’ personal and medical information, American hospitals have been more reluctant to adopt similar technologies, the Palm Beach Post reports. The latest company to encounter a cool reception from hospitals is Applied Digital Solutions, the maker of the VeriChip implantable microchip, which stores an identification number that providers can use to access a patient’s medical records online. As with smart cards, hospitals say they are concerned about the costs and potential liability issues associated with the technology.

Applied Digital implanted the VeriChip in eight people last week and says it has a waiting list of thousands who want the device. But even in Palm Beach, Fla., where Applied Digital is based, none of the major hospitals has yet acquired the handheld scanners that are needed to read the information stored on the chip.

In an attempt to spur adoption of the technology, Applied Digital initially is offering the scanners to hospitals in Palm Beach and Broward counties for free, although the devices later will be sold for about $1,500. Company officials will be meeting with hospital leaders across the next month to try to convince them that the application could save patient lives. Hospital officials, however, say one of their chief concerns is ensuring that information stored on the chips—or in the online database—is accurate and up-to-date and remains confidential.

Those are the same concerns that have limited use of smart cards, according to Ed Donaldson, who founded smart card vendor Linc International in 1996. The company folded after three years of attempting to market its products to hospitals. “A physician is still hesitant to accept information when they don’t know who entered the information and where it came from,” Donaldson said.[7]

GAO report considers federal smart card programs

Government agencies deploying smart card technology need to address personnel and technical challenges to realize the full potential of the application, according to a report from the General Accounting Office. Agencies such as the Department of Veterans Affairs and HHS have piloted smart card technology for a variety of projects, including storage of health information and processing health benefits.

The report looks at a VA program launched in April 2001 that stored beneficiaries’ medical and personal information on smart cards as part of a project intended to expedite patient registration at VA hospitals. Although VA officials credited the cards with reducing registration times by 45 minutes on average, they did not expand the program beyond its original two pilot locations because of budget constraints and problems integrating legacy computer systems throughout the VA health system.[8]

EU to research wearable health monitors

The European Union is in the final stages of negotiating a $16 million research effort to develop wearable health monitors, which could expand health care coverage and decrease the cost of monitoring conditions such as diabetes, cardiac problems, high-risk pregnancies and stress, Electronic Engineering Times reports. At a conference in Cancun, Mexico, last week, as many as 17 papers detailed these and other prototype systems using handheld devices, low-power sensors and wireless networks.

The European Commission is working with private companies on three future projects—a cardiac monitoring system from Philips, a sensor “garment” from Italian company Smartex and a mask that detects neural stress based on facial expressions.

Philips’ My Heart system will be used to monitor, diagnose and treat heart conditions such as arrhythmia. The 45-month project could begin in January and includes a group of electronics, medical and textile companies, said Josef Lauter, a principal scientist at Philips Research. The Smartex project will follow up on the company’s Wealthy system, a wearable garment that contains sensors and electrodes knitted into traditional materials. The Wealthy system is not expected to be used commercially, but the next stage of the product will contribute to the EC’s initiative, according to Smartex’s Rita Paradiso.

Ericsson created its MobiHealth system based on a personal digital assistant that links to sensor networks on the body and communicates with physicians through cellular networks. A three-month project will track about 25 patients with a variety of conditions and should be completed in February.

While it’s difficult to predict the growth of wearable health-monitoring systems, research into the systems will be “exponential” during the next five years, according to Paolo Bonato, director of the motion analysis lab at Harvard Medical School’s Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital.[9]

Georgia Physician Network Tests Ambulatory EMRs

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia and the Piedmont Clinic, an Atlanta physician network, are evaluating an ambulatory electronic medical records system for clinic medical offices and health plans. While EMRs have been expensive, difficult to use and have lacked a standard clinical vocabulary, the technology can reduce duplicative testing and provide clinical reminders for patient care, according to a BCBSGA press release.

Piedmont and BCBSGA have hired health information consulting firm JHD Group to conduct an evaluation study and develop the business case for the records system. The evaluation should be complete early this year.

The Piedmont Clinic is a 444-member physician group and a subsidiary of the not-for-profit Piedmont Medical Center, which includes Piedmont Hospital.[10]

WSJ Examines Increased Use of Telemedicine To Reduce Costs

The Wall Street Journal on Thursday examined how telemedicine has begun to move “into the policy mainstream” as governments and technology companies are “investing heavily to tap its potential for sharply reducing health care costs for a growing elderly population.”

Telemedicine, which first became available in the 1970s, allows physicians to read the electrocardiograms, blood pressure levels and X-rays of patients from remote locations. Worldwide, Netherlands-based Philips Electronics, France-based Alcatel and Italy-based Telecom Italia have launched telemedicine ventures. In the U.S., the Department of Veterans Affairs has begun to use telemedicine in some VA health care facilities, and Blue Cross of California in January plans to expand the use of technology to reach 90,000 members of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System who live in rural areas.

The advantages of telemedicine “are commanding increased attention,” but the technology also has “limitations,” the Journal reports. According to the Journal, a “remote visit can deprive doctors of the subtle cues they often pick up when seeing a patient in person”.[11]

Card Reader To Give Patients Instant Copayment Information

BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina is offering physicians a card reader that will allow patients to use issued cards to find out instantly how much they owe and how much the insurer will pay, the Wall Street Journal reports. The reader, which is manufactured by Companion Technologies, is being introduced at a time when patients are being asked to cover a growing proportion of their medical bills, the Journal notes.

As part of the plan, all BCBS patients will be able to swipe their through the device, which will use broadband Internet access to communicate with the insurer. In addition to providing payment information, the card reader also will be equipped to process credit and debit card payments. Companion Technologies is expected to start marketing the device in August for a monthly lease price of $19.95, and BCBS officials say they will distribute cards to members over the next year.

According to Harvey Galloway, president of Companion Technologies, “the benefit to the doctor’s office is knowing, while they have the patient in front of them, how much the patient liability is, and not having to go after them after they leave the office.” The Journal notes, however, that some claims might slow down if there is no referral on record or if there are other complicating factors that require somebody at BCBC to sort through the claim.

Katy Henrickson, a senior analyst at Forrester Research, said several companies are developing similar products to speed up the payment process.[12]

N.Y. Hospitals Speed Registration with Cards, Online Options

University Hospital in Syracuse, N.Y., last week began issuing special cards to patients who register before coming to the hospital in an effort to cut wait times, the Syracuse Post-Standard reports. Other Syracuse hospitals are adding online registration services to expedite the check-in process.

At University Hospital, patients registered for certain elective or other scheduled procedures present a SpeedPAS card at the registration desk, where they receive their complete paperwork and are sent to the appropriate department. One week before an appointment. Patients receive a letter containing a SpeedPAS card and asking them to call the hospital and register. Once they register by phone, patients are given a number to write on their card. The SpeedPAS initially will only be given to patients coming in for services in certain departments. Hospital officials expect to issue the cards to nearly all pre-registered patients by the end of the summer.

St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center recently began letting patients register online or by phone. Once they arrive at the hospital, patients can go directly to the department where they have an appointment. The online system reduces the amount of “phone tag” involved in the process, according to the hospital. Crouse Hospital also plans to begin an online pre-registration service.[13]

California Government Proposal Includes Smart Cards to Prevent Fraud

A proposal to fingerprint and supply California’s Medi-Cal patients with computerized cards to prevent fraud is one of a few “controversial” proposals in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s (R) plan to reform state government, the San Jose Mercury News reports.

Medi-Cal is the state’s health care program for low-income residents. The California Performance Review would increase Schwarzenegger’s authority, create 11 new agencies and eliminate 118 boards or commissions in an effort to streamline the government and save the state an estimated $32 billion in the next five years (Feder Ostrov, San Jose Mercury News, 8/5). Among other information technology-related proposals, the plan calls for California to:

• Develop an online state child immunization registry (Hubbell, San Francisco Chronicle, 8/4); and
• Combine the eligibility requirements for the state’s low-income assistance, Medicaid and food-stamp programs and move them online (iHealthBeat, 8/4). The move is expected to save the state money by coordinating health care data that is stored in 60 different information systems, the Mercury News reports.

Other potentially controversial proposals involve eliminating an independent state HMO watchdog agency and identifying HIV patients by name to state public health authorities. State Sen. Deborah Ortiz (D) said lawmakers would review the governor’s plan. “… Unless we provide more money to the system, efficiencies are not going to result in more favorable outcomes for Californians,” Ortiz said.[14]

Atlanta Physicians Will Pilot Health Credit Cards

Atlanta will test a credit-card machine that will allow physicians to access information about a patient’s health benefits by swiping a card and then printing out the information, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reports. Financial transaction company First Data will launch the pilot in January.

The company is not the first to pilot such a project. Wyoming, North Dakota and Nevada have programs that use “smart cards” to store medical records, the Chronicle reports. First Data’s rival HealthTransaction Network also is encouraging insurance companies to issue debit cards that would connect to medical spending accounts.

First Data’s machine, made by Hypercom, will feature smart-chip technology and magnetic strips. The chips are not being tested in the pilot, but they allow more information to be transmitted and stored, the Chronicle reports. Once some privacy issues are resolved, the terminals will include the chips, which already have been used in Europe, said Beverly Kennedy, president of First Data’s health care division. The machines will plug into walls like credit-card terminals and will be easy to use, she said.

To minimize the risk for physicians, First Data will provide the terminals at no cost but will still collect transaction fees since it owns the network that carries the data, the Chronicle reports. The terminals will first be tested in doctors’ offices and will offer only eligibility data. Insurance companies taking part in the program will issue their customers special cards for use at participating health care facilities. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia, one of the largest insurers in the state, might participate, the Chronicle reports.

Officials plan to eventually broaden the program on a national level to opticians and dentists and to offer comprehensive medical information including referrals, authorization and claims status. They also hope the system will cut health care administration costs, which stand at $275 billion a year.[15]

Athens Public Transport Employees Get Electronic Health Cards

Employees of Attika Metro System, the underground railway system in Athens, Greece, have been issued electronic health identification cards to help ensure their safety during the Olympics, E-Health Insider reports. The Global Health ID card contains a patient’s next-of-kin information, medical information such as allergies and blood type, and insurance and medical contact information. Details about inoculations and operations can also be added.

Each patient has an ID number, which they use to access their medical information online. Patients enter their medical information in a series of templates, and they are responsible for keeping their records current. The online record is accessible only through the card, and the information is deleted if someone reports a missing card.

Every emergency department in Athens is wired with encrypted Internet connections, an extra feature added for the Olympics so that patient record templates can be translated and edited into Greek. Clinicians can also update the record and upload information such as X-ray results. Emergency services could eventually access the information through a personal digital assistant with a wireless Internet connection, said Les Parsonson, managing director of PEMMS International, which developed the card system with Alliance Security International.

There have been “overwhelming requests” for the cards from other Metro systems throughout the world, said Steven Baker, CEO of Alliance Security. The company is also working with travel insurance companies and private medical firms. Individuals can purchase a one-year subscription to the service for $18.[16]

Study: Health Care Organizations Prefer Active RFID to Passive RFID

A recent study found that health care organizations prefer active radio frequency identification technology to passive RFID technology, which often is used in retail warehouses, Healthcare IT News reports.

The “Healthcare Without Bonds: Trends in RFID” study, conducted by Spyglass Consulting Group, found that passive RFID technology accounts for less than 23% of all RFID applications implemented by health care organizations. In passive RFID systems, a reader must be waved next to a transponder with an RFID chip, while in active RFID systems, signals constantly are transmitted between transponders and transceivers, Healthcare IT News reports.

“Passive RFID is not ready for primetime,” said Gregg Malkary, founder and managing director of Spyglass Consulting. Spyglass, which interviewed more than 100 health care organization professionals for the study, found that lack of industrywide standards, less-expensive strategies such as barcoding, and a lack of government or regulatory mandates deter the implementation of passive RFID technology.[17]

RFID Technology Could Assist in Emergency Response Efforts, Bloomberg News Reporter Says in WTOP Radio Interview

WTOP Radio’s “WTOP News” on Tuesday included an interview with Fred Fishkin, Bloomberg News technology reporter, about the limits of IT in responding to a national disaster such as Hurricane Katrina and which new technologies could be useful in a future crisis. According to Fishkin, technology and new forms of communication “may not be available” when public infrastructures are completely destroyed. However, Fishkin said that radio frequency identification technology “has some potential” to assist in a future disaster. RFIDs on wrist bands could track people as they are moved from place to place after an emergency, Fishkin said (“WTOP News,” WTOP Radio, 9/6).

Related Commentary

As the flood waters from Hurricane Katrina recede, “a woefully inadequate medical care system for the poor,” which has failed New Orleans and “most other [U.S. cities] for decades” will be exposed, Jonathan Weiner, professor and deputy director of the Health Services Research and Development Center at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, said on Monday in a commentary on APM’s “Marketplace.” According to Weiner, public health agencies should develop a “medical Marshall Plan” for the country, including rebuilding clinics and hospitals “so that they are better than they were before” as part of a “comprehensive network” featuring universal access to care, prevention and recognition of social health factors. However, private health care providers can not “re-engineer the system piecemeal” and will require assistance from the federal government by redirecting some of the $2 trillion health care budget to improving public health infrastructure.[18]

Former HHS Secretary To Publish RFID Proposal

Former HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson in the next 50 days plans to publish a proposal for widespread implementation of implanted radio frequency identification chips, Red Nova/The Business reports.

The RFID chips would hold individuals’ medical records and would be connected to a national health IT network. Thompson – who now is a director at Applied Digital Solutions, the maker of the chips – had a VeriChip inserted in his own arm.

VeriChip spokesperson John Procter said “virtually everyone” would benefit from RFID chips, which would cost about $200 per person, but civil liberties groups have expressed privacy and security concerns over RFID chip implantation.[19]

Calif. Act To Limit RFID Faces Setback

The California Assembly Appropriations Committee on Thursday put on hold for the year a measure that would limit public agencies’ use of radio frequency identification devices, the San Jose Mercury News reports. State Sen. Joe Simitian (D), who introduced the bill, has pledged to try to revive it before the Legislature adjourns on Sept. 9.

The Identity Information Protection Act of 2005 (SB 682) would prohibit skimming or theft of information on RFID devices, require the state to include strong security protection and encryption of personal data in any future use of the technology, and establish a three-year moratorium for expanding the technology, the Mercury News reports. The act, which was “shelved” without discussion, aimed to address the threat of personal privacy and tracking if RFID chips were implanted in driver’s licenses, school IDs, government health benefit cards and public library cards.

The legislation, which the state Senate has approved, is supported by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.[20]

iHealthBeat Rounds Up Coverage On RFID Privacy Concerns

The FDA last week approved the use of the VeriChip, a radio frequency microchip planted under the skin that stores patients’ medical information. The Applied Digital Solutions chip, about the size of a grain of rice, contains a code that physicians can scan to retrieve information, such as patients’ allergies and prior treatments (iHealthBeat, 10/14).

Several publications recently addressed the privacy concerns surrounding RFID technology. Summaries of the articles appear below:

eWeek: The RFID chip from Applied Digital Solutions has “kicked up a media furor over potential privacy concerns,” eWeek reports. Because the chip contains identification numbers that provide access to medical records, the number could potentially let anyone access health records, eWeek reports. A unique identifier, which is not currently part of the national electronic medical record plan, could be used to obtain a patient’s complete and correct medical information, according to the article.

“There’s more controversy than there needs to be,” said Mark Leavitt, medical director at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. “It’s just a higher-tech version of the medical ID bracelet.” There also is concern among analysts that the chip is not very useful and “may simply serve to further muddy the health IT debate without offering much of a contribution,” according to eWeek (Lawrence, eWeek, 10/15).

In an eWeek opinion piece, contributing editor and emergency medical technician David Coursey writes that RFID technology could primarily benefit patients in some cases by tagging medical devices and surgical instruments and “only secondarily” by providing patient identification. RFID chips could help identify Alzheimers patients or those with chronic conditions by providing an ID number and a primary diagnosis to aid emergency workers, Coursey writes. Although there are many civil liberties issues involved with such tags, in each case either the patient or legal guardian would decide whether to implant the RFID tag. “Medical RFID is only for the patients who need it,” Coursey writes. “But like so many other medical technologies, it can save lives when used properly” (Coursey, eWeek, 10/15).

InformationWeek: While the “upside” of RFID technology is “immediately apparent to those involved in health care,” privacy concerns remain, according to InformationWeek. “[T]he general public already is skittish about the privacy questions around RFID, and just the mention of RFID implants gives most people the heebie-jeebies,” according to InformationWeek (Soat, InformationWeek, 10/18).

BBC News Online Magazine: RFID technology is sparking privacy concerns with the technology “moving from geeky future-gazing to a mainstream population,” BBC News Online Magazine reports. The British Medical Association has said that it would not raise an ethical objection to implanted RFID chips “as long as it was proven to be safe and there was no coercion,” BBC News Online Magazine reports (Coughlan, BBC News Online Magazine, 10/15). [21]

Opinion: Benefit of Implantable Microchip is Unclear

An opinion piece in eWeek on Thursday examined the medical value of an implantable radio frequency identification chip that the FDA approved this week. The chip does not contain any medical information and is similar to “lower-tech and vastly cheaper” identification products such as bracelets and cards, eWeek columnist M.L. Baker writes.

Applied Digital Solutions’ VeriChip, which was approved this week, contains a code that must be read by a $650 scanner to access a patient’s medical information. It costs between $150 and $200 to have the chip implanted, and the patient then pays $9.95 per month for a subscriber registry service (Baker, eWeek, 10/14). The company says VeriChip could improve health care and help avoid mistakes because doctors would know whom they were treating and have patients’ medical information (iHealthBeat, 10/14).

VeriChip, however, “suffers from the exact same problem that low-tech versions do: patients will be unwilling to pay for them, and providers won’t trust that patients will update their information,” Baker writes. The VeriChip database also may lack information such as whether a patient filled a prescription or reacted badly to a medication, which could be provided by “only the most sophisticated, up-to-date medical records,” according to Baker. Baker writes that the chip will just serve as another way to communicate information, and the information could actually be less comprehensive than a provider’s records.

However, Lorraine Fernandes, senior vice president of health care practice at data integration firm Initiate Systems, said she sees the chip as another way to facilitate patient identification, similar to other methods such as biometric identification (eWeek, 10/14).

A separate column in the Washington Post on Friday looked at the privacy concerns surrounding electronic tracking and data capture devices such as RFID chips in health care. It might be possible one day to mine information from such RFID chips or to conduct a customized Google search on the chips, according to the Post.

“It’s a whole new world. It’s sort of like all these little details about our lives are being recorded,” Internet security consultant Richard Smith said. “We love the conveniences. We love the services. But people kind of instinctively know there’s a dark side to this. They just hope it won’t happen to them”.[22]

Boston Hospitals Test RFID To Track Patients, Equipment

Several Boston hospitals are testing radio frequency identification tags to track critical medical equipment, the Boston Globe reports. Some local hospitals also are piloting programs using the technology to monitor patient wait times and to ensure that patients are given the correct medications or blood types.

Massachusetts General Hospital, which two years ago began using Radianse RFID technology in its operating room, this spring will roll out RFID technology in other departments and also will use the tags to label medicine and medical equipment. The hospital’s computer system will send alerts to staff members’ pagers to warn them of certain situations, such as if patients are about to be given the wrong medicine or if a patient waits more than 30 minutes between medical tests, the Globe reports. The hospital also this month will begin using RFID tags in its blood bank to ensure that transfusion recipients get the right blood type.

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, which last fall began using RFID, worked with PanGo Networks to develop a system of small tags with transmitters that send signals to wall-mounted receivers, the Globe reports. The signals transmit to hospital computers the location of patients, surgeons and medical equipment.

Physicians and other officials at the Boston hospitals using RFID technology say they are concerned about patient privacy, so they are only using temporary, external tags hidden in standard identification bracelets, the Globe reports. The tags hold information such as a patient’s name, hospital identification number and blood type. However, privacy advocates are concerned that as RFID technology becomes standard in ensuring patient safety, it is less likely to be optional, the Globe reports.[23]

Beth Israel to Test RFID in Emergency Department

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston next month will begin a pilot program to track patients, medical records and equipment in the emergency department with radio frequency identification technology, Health-IT World News reports. The hospital hopes to improve workflow by identifying patterns in the ED and tracking how long people and supplies are in certain places, Beth Israel CIO John Halamka said.

The hospital is currently planning the pilot and conducting a survey throughout the facility to determine its specific RFID needs, Halamka said. Because of the complex nature of EDs, accurate tracking and getting wireless signals will be a challenge, he said. However, if the hospital can track equipment and people in individual ED rooms, the pilot will be successful, Halamka said.

Beth Israel is working with wireless firm SideBand Systems to determine the hospital’s RFID bandwidth and channel requirements. A PanGo Networks Web-based tracking system will monitor the tagged items and patients in the pilot. More than 100 ED workers will participate in the program (Berman, Health-IT World News, 6/29).

A recent survey of more than 350 IT executives found that requirements from government and large retailers have encouraged 46% of respondents to begin RFID adoption. Another 51% expect to deploy RFID within two years. The survey was conducted in April by BearingPoint, the Software & Information Industry Association and CIO magazine.[24]

Siemens Pilots RFID at New York Hospital

Siemens Business Services last week announced a pilot with New York’s Jacobi Medical Center to track patients using radio frequency identification technology, InfoWorld Daily News reports. Under the program, RFID chips will be placed in patients’ wristbands, and clinicians will use Wi-Fi-enabled Tablet PCs to read the data.

The wristband chips will contain the patient’s name, date of birth, gender and a medical record number that links to lab, billing and pharmacy information. The project is intended to improve access to medical records and reduce the risk of misidentifying patients. Most hospitals still use paper-based wristbands to identify patients.

A program in Mexico City has implanted RFID chips into patients with Alzheimer’s, diabetes and other chronic conditions for identification purposes (Schwartz, InfoWorld Daily News, 7/23).

In related news, a group of pharmaceutical companies this month began testing the use of RFID to track individual drug bottles from manufacturing plants to distributors to pharmacies. The program will run through September, when industry groups will evaluate and publish the results. The group of drug makers includes Abbott Laboratories, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Procter & Gamble.[25]

MIT Lab to Study RFID in Health Care

Auto-ID Labs, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology group that helped develop radio frequency identification, this week announced the creation of the Healthcare Research Initiative, a project to study the use of RFID, mass serialization and sensing technology in health care, InformationWeek reports. Auto-ID hopes the research from the project will help the health care industry in its RFID implementation decisions.

Initially, the project will focus on the use of RFID for tracking drugs through the supply chain, from raw materials through the sale of drugs, InformationWeek reports. The project will look at issues such as whether RFID emissions affect pharmaceutical products. Auto-ID will confirm its findings with physical trials of its research.

The research will be conducted with EPCglobal, the organization supervising the development of RFID standards, and health care companies and industry associations.[26]

Atlanta Physicians Will Pilot Health Credit Cards

Atlanta will test a credit-card machine that will allow physicians to access information about a patient’s health benefits by swiping a card and then printing out the information, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reports. Financial transaction company First Data will launch the pilot in January.

The company is not the first to pilot such a project. Wyoming, North Dakota and Nevada have programs that use “smart cards” to store medical records, the Chronicle reports. First Data’s rival HealthTransaction Network also is encouraging insurance companies to issue debit cards that would connect to medical spending accounts.

First Data’s machine, made by Hypercom, will feature smart-chip technology and magnetic strips. The chips are not being tested in the pilot, but they allow more information to be transmitted and stored, the Chronicle reports. Once some privacy issues are resolved, the terminals will include the chips, which already have been used in Europe, said Beverly Kennedy, president of First Data’s health care division. The machines will plug into walls like credit-card terminals and will be easy to use, she said.

To minimize the risk for physicians, First Data will provide the terminals at no cost but will still collect transaction fees since it owns the network that carries the data, the Chronicle reports. The terminals will first be tested in doctors’ offices and will offer only eligibility data. Insurance companies taking part in the program will issue their customers special cards for use at participating health care facilities. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia, one of the largest insurers in the state, might participate, the Chronicle reports.

Officials plan to eventually broaden the program on a national level to opticians and dentists and to offer comprehensive medical information including referrals, authorization and claims status. They also hope the system will cut health care administration costs, which stand at $275 billion a year.[27]

References

[1] iHealth beat Nov 22, 2005 (Colliver, San Francisco Chronicle, 11/22/2005)

[2] Health-IT World News, 9/27/2005

[3] BMJ, 7/17/2005

[4] E-Health Insider, 6/1/2004

[5]Glover, Pittsburgh Business Times, 5/24/2002

[6]Jordon, Omaha World-Herald, 10/8/2003

[7] Circelli, 5/15/2002

[8] Electronic Government: Progress in Promoting Adoption of Smart Card Technology,” January 2003

[9] Merritt, Electronic Engineering Times, 9/22/2003

[10] Blue Cross press release, 1/29/2004

[11] Crane, Wall Street Journal, 11/10/2005

[12] Rubenstein, Wall Street Journal, 7/26/2005

[13] Mulder, Syracuse Post-Standard, 6/4/2004

[14] San Jose Mercury News, 8/5/2004

[15] Rubner, Atlanta Business Chronicle, 11/5/2004

[16] E-Health Insider, 8/17/2004

[17] Healthcare IT News, 09/13/2005

[18] Weiner, “Marketplace,” APM, 9/5/2005

[19] Glover, Red Nova/The Business, 7/31/2005

[20] Gladstone, San Jose Mercury News, 8/26/2004

[21] iHealth Beat, 10/20/2004

[22] O’Harrow, Washington Post, 10/15/2004

[23] Berdik, Boston Globe, 2/1/2005

[24] Repsher Emery, Washington Technology, 6/29/2004

[25] Whiting, InformationWeek, 7/26/2004

[26] Whiting, InformationWeek, 5/4/2004

[27] Rubner, Atlanta Business Chronicle, 11/5/2004

EFS Integrated Card Project

2006

Overview

Magnetic stripe cards are generally not secure forms of storing data. Its primary use is to store basic identification codes enabling access to secured data on United’s portals. The card will drive traffic to the consumer and physician portals. A PIN may be used to verify proper ownership and use of the card. Tracks 1 and 2 store name and account information respectively with track 2 used by banks. The card, used in this manner, will not be used to store sensitive data, but will be used to open access to online data via the IP network much as a swipe card is used to gain access to restricted areas in a building. If the card is lost, sensitive data is still secure. As United moves to more advanced smart cards with chips used for portable storage and data communications, data security and privacy issues will be addressed.

International standards

A number of International Standards Organization standards, ISO 7810, ISO 7811, ISO 7812, ISO 7813 and ISO 4909, define the physical properties of the card, including size, flexibility, location of the magstripe, magnetic characteristics. They also provide the standards for financial cards, including the allocation of card number ranges to different card issuing institutions.

The majority of magnetic cards used in the UK, Europe and USA confirm to the following ISO standards for magnetic cards.[1]

7810	Physical Characteristics of Credit Card Size Document
7811-1	Embossing
7811-2	Magnetic Stripe – Low Coercivity
7811-3	Location of Embossed Characters
7811-4	Location of Tracks 1 and 2
7811-5	Location of Track 3
7811-6	Magnetic Stripe – High Coercivity
7813	Financial Transaction Cards

ISO 7813 (tracks 1 and 2)

ISO 4909 (track 3)

Track Characteristics and Format

Physical

In most magnetic stripe cards, the magnetic stripe is contained in a plastic-like film. The magnetic stripe is located 0.223 inches (0.56642 centimeters) from the edge of the card, and is 0.375 inches (0.9525 centimeters) wide. The magnetic stripe contains three tracks, each 0.110 inches wide. Each track can either contain 7-bit alphanumeric characters, or 5-bit numeric characters.[2]

Magnetic stripe field

Magstripes come in two varieties: high-coercivity and low-coercivity. High-coercivity magstripes are harder to erase, and therefore are appropriate for cards that are frequently used or which need to have a long life. Low-coercivity magstripes require a lower amount of magnetic energy to record, and hence the card writers are much cheaper than machines which are capable of recording high-coercivity magstripes. A card reader can read either type of magstripe, but a high-coercivity card writer may only write high-coercivity cards, while a low-coercivity card writer may only write low-coercivity cards.[3]

Tracks

The ISO/IEC standard 7811, which is used by banks, specifies:

• Track one holds 79 six-bit plus parity bit read-only characters.
• Track two holds 40 four-bit plus parity bit characters.
• Track three holds 107 four-bit plus parity bit characters.

Track Formats

Track	Encoding	Density	Format	Characters	Use
1	IATA	210 BPI	Alpha	79	Name
2	ABA	75 BPI	BCD	40	Account
3	THRIFT	210 BPI	BCD	107	Uncommon

Airline customers are often greeted by name after their credit card is swiped by the ticket agent. That’s because the International Air Transport Association (IATA) standard for placing the customer’s name and account information is assigned to track one of a credit card. A quick swipe of the card and the customer’s name becomes instantly available, with no database query required.[4]

Track two is written in the lingua franca of the credit card processing world as set forth by the American Banking Association (ABA). Nearly all credit cards and credit card equipment around the world use track two, though there is currently a movement to relocate their data to track one because it holds more information.[5]

Track 3 is similar to tracks 1 and 2 and almost never used. There are many different data standards used. This is open for our use at United and would set the standard format for healthcare use. We could store subscriber ID, group number, and all names associated with the card. We could create an open standard enabling others to adopt its use and become the de facto standard.

Banking Application

Track 1 Layout

Track 1 (“International Air Transport Association”) stores more information than Track 2, and contains the cardholder’s name as well as account number and other discretionary data.

The information on track one for financial cards is contained in several formats: A, which is reserved for proprietary use of the card issuer, B, which is described below, C-M, which are reserved for use by ANSI Subcommittee X3B10 and N-Z, which are available for use by individual card issuers.

• Start sentinel — 1 character
• Format code=”B” — 1 character (alpha only)
• Primary account number — up to 19 characters
• Separator — 1 character
• Country code — 3 characters
• Name — 2-26 characters
• Separator — 1 character
• Expiration date or separator — 4 characters or 1 character
• Discretionary data — enough characters to fill out maximum record length (79 characters total)
• End sentinel — 1 character
• Longitudinal Redundancy Check (LRC), a form of computed check character — 1 character

Track 2 Layout

Track 2 (“American Banking Association,”) is currently most commonly used. This is the track that is read by ATMs and credit card checkers. The ABA designed the specifications of this track and all world banks must abide by it. It contains the cardholder’s account, encrypted PIN, plus other discretionary data.

The format for track two, developed by the banking industry, is as follows:

• Start sentinel — 1 character
• Primary account number – up to 19 characters
• Separator — 1 character
• Country code — 3 characters
• Expiration date or separator — 4 characters or 1 character
• Discretionary data — enough characters to fill out maximum record length (40 characters total)
• LRC — 1 character

Track 3 Layout

The format for track three, as specified in ISO 4909 is as follows:

• Start sentinel – one character (generally ‘+’)
• Format code – two characters (numeric) See description below
• Primary account number – up to 19 characters
• Field Separator – one character (generally ‘=’)
• Country code optional, 3 characters
• Currency code 3 characters
• Currency Exponent 1 characters
• Amount Authorized per Cycle 4 characters
• Amount remaining this cycle 4 characters
• cycle begin (validity date) 4 characters
• cycle length 2 characters
• retry count 1 character
• Pin control parameters (optional) 6 characters
• Interchange controls 1 characters
• PAN Service restriction 2 characters
• SAN-1 Service Restriction 2 characters
• SAN-2 Service Restriction 2 characters
• Expiration date (optional) 4 characters
• Card Sequence number 1 character
• Card Security Number optional, 9 characters
• First subsidiary account number optional
• Secondary subsidiary account number optional
• Relay Marker 1 character
• Cryptographic Check Digits optional, 6 characters
• Discretionary Data
• End sentinel – one character (generally ‘?’)
• Longitudinal redundancy check (LRC) – one character

Format codes are (field 2):

• 00: Not valid for international interchange.
• 01-02: Bank/financial. These are the formats described here.
• 03-19: Reserved for future use by ISO/TC 68.
• 20-89: Reserved for future use by ISO/TC 95 SC 17.
• 90-99: Reserved for proprietary use of card issuer, but not for international interchange.

Driver’s Licenses (USA) Application

The data stored on magnetic stripes on American driver’s licenses is specified by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA).

The following data is stored on track 1:

• State or Province
• City
• Name
• Address

The following data is stored on track 2:

• ISO Issuer Identifier Number (IIN)
• Drivers License / Identification Number
• Field Separator – generally ‘=’
• Expiration Date
• Birth date
• DL/ID# overflow

The following data is stored on track 3:

• Template V#
• Security V#
• Postal Code
• Class
• Restrictions
• Endorsements
• Sex
• Height
• Weight
• Hair Color
• Eye Color
• ID#
• Reserved Space
• Error Correction
• Security

References

[1] http://www.cyberd.co.uk/support/technotes/isocards.htm

[2] Wikipedia

[3] Wikipedia

[4] Freescale Semiconductor

[5] Freescale Semiconductor

Sources

Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_strip

Acme Technologies – http://www.acmetech.com/documentation/credit_cards/magstripe_track_format.html

How Stuff Works – http://money.howstuffworks.com/question503.htm

Freescale Semiconductor – http://www.freescale.com/webapp/sps/site/application.jsp?nodeId=02430ZnQXGXDWd

Cyberd – http://www.cyberd.co.uk/support/technotes/isocards.htm

Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility – http://www.aimglobal.org/technologies/card/msglossary.asp

Magnetic Stripe Glossary [1]

AAMVA: American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators

ABA: American Bankers Association

ABA Track: Used to refer to the ANSI/ISO Track #2 encoded at 75 BPI density in BCD format

AC Erasure: See Erasure

Acicular: Needle shaped, i.e., a particle whose length is three or more times its width

ACK: Positive acknowledgment, an ASCII control character verifying receipt of signal without error

Adjacent Reversal Effect: The characteristic of an encoded magnetic stripe, due to inadequate separation of the flux reversals, in which the read voltage does not stabilize at a zero value between reversal peaks

AFNOR: Association Française de Normalisation, France’s National Standards Organization

Air Gap: A nonmagnetic section, whether air or material, in an otherwise closed magnetic circuit

AIM: Automatic Identification Manufacturers

Alignment: While the magnetic stripe slurry on the substrate is still wet, it is subjected to a magnetic field which aligns the magnetic particles with their axes parallel to the direction of encoding

ALPHA: Alphanumeric; generally refers to the ANSI/ISO ALPHA Data Format, which is a 7-bit 64- character set

Ampere Turn/meter (A/m) : The S.I. unit of coercivity. 1 oersted = 79.557 A/m

Analog Decoding: A generic decoding technique using a measured parameter (such as the voltage of a charging capacitor), determined by the immediately preceding bit-cell, as valid for the current bit-cell in order to determine whether it represents a 0-bit or a 1-bit

ANSI: American National Standards Institute. ANSI has adopted ISO Standards 7810, 7811, 7812, and 7813 as National Standards for ID cards (see ISO)

APACS: Association for Payment Clearing Services, U.K.’s National Standards Organization for transaction cards (replacing BSI – British Standards Institute)

APTA: American Public Transit Association

ASCII: American Standard Code for Information Interchange, the most widely used set of binary numbers for data and control communications; consists of 128 7-bit characters, of which 96 are alphanumeric, symbol, and punctuation characters and 32 are control characters; an eighth parity bit is usually added for error checking. The 64 6-bit character subset containing the capital alphabet, numerals and certain punctuation characters is widely used for data only communications

Aspect Ratio: The ratio of length to width of a magnetic particle (pigment)

ATB: Automatic Ticketing & Boarding, a tab size paper ticket containing a magnetic stripe, used by airlines

ATM: Automatic Teller Machine

Azimuth Error: A decode error resulting from misalignment of the read head gap with the encoded flux reversals on a magnetic stripe

B: Magnetic flux density or induction; the cgs unit is gauss

Br : Residual induction

Bs : Saturation induction

BCD: Binary coded decimal; generally refers to the ANSI/ISO BCD Data Format, which is a 5-bit 16 character set

Balanced Head: A head with dual coil windings configured to cancel external magnetic fields (i.e., those not coming through the gap)

Ball Mill: A rotating chamber containing small spheres used to uniformly disperse the magnetic pigment in the slurry

Barium Ferrite: A magnetic pigment, BaFe, commonly used in high coercivity magnetic stripes.(700-4000 oersteds)

Baud Rate: The number of transmission elements per second in a communications line; the element may contain a single data bit, in which case baud rate equals bits/sec., or the element may contain two or more bits, as in the case of high speed modems

BH Meter: A device for measuring the intrinsic hysteresis loop of a sample of magnetic material. Usually the sample is magnetized in a 60 hz field supplied by a solenoid and the intrinsic flux is detected by integrating the emf produced in an opposing pair of search coils, one of which surrounds the sample. The hysteresis loop may be displayed on an oscilloscope by feeding the X and Y plates with voltages proportional to the magnetizing coil current and the integrated search coil emf respectively

Binary: Having only two possible values, i.e., zero or one

Binder: A resin, such as polyurethane, in the magnetic slurry, which when dry in the magnetic stripe locks the magnetic particles with their axes aligned

Biphase: The binary encoding technique used in magnetic stripe, wherein a bit-cell represents a logic One if it has a flux reversal at its midpoint and represents a logic zero if it does not; also known as Aiken Biphase, and two-frequency coherent-phase encoding

Bit: A binary digit, having the value of either 0 or 1

Bit-Copying: See Skimming

Bit Cell: The distance on a magnetic stripe required for the encoding of a binary digit, i.e., a bit; numerically equal to the reciprocal of the encoding density

Bit Density: The number of bit cells encoded per unit length along the magnetic stripe, usually expressed as bits-per-inch, or BPI

Bit & Strobe: An encoder encode input or reader decode output interface using a binary-state (0,1) data line with an associated clocking pulse line (strobe) to indicate when sampling of the data line is valid; a Bit & Strobe interface is independent of the encoding format and protocol being used

Black Iron Oxide: Ferrosoferric oxide (Fe3O4 ) magnetic iron oxide

Bleed: Graphics printed up to one or more edges of the card

Blocking: (a) The process of sticking together of tickets during storage. This process is sometimes accompanied by the transfer of magnetic or other print materials from one card to the next; (b) the process of magnetic stripe tape sticking together in roll form

BPI: Bits per inch; see Bit Density

BSI: British Standards Institute

Buffered Data: Decoded data from a magnetic stripe read held in temporary memory until needed

Bulk Degausser: See Bulk Eraser

Bulk Eraser: Equipment for erasing a roll of tape. The roll is usually rotated while a 60 cycle AC erasing field is decreased either by withdrawing the roll from an electromagnet or reducing the AC supply to an electromagnet. This equipment will generally erase coercivities less than 1000 oersted

Butterfly Pouch: An unlaminated ID badge with a hinge running along one edge into which the prepared ID card is inserted and laminated

Byte: An ordered set of 8 bits

Calender: To press so as to produce a smooth surface finish and increase particle packing density; may reduce thickness

Card: Commonly used generic term for magnetic stripe media regardless of shape, construction, and material; e.g., magnetic stripe cards, badges, tickets, forms

Carrier: (a) A thick paper folder with a hard, glossy inner surface into which an ID badge is inserted for processing through a laminator; (b) a heavy stock paper folder that holds a magnetic stripe card for mailing to the cardholder

Cassette Head: A read/encode head specifically designed for usewith analog cassette tape recording, sometimes used in card readers

CAT: Credit Authorization Terminal; See POS

CBEMA: Computer and Business Equipment Manufacturers Association

CEN: Comité Européen de Normalisation (European Committee for Standardisation)

CENELEC: Comité Européen de Normalisation de Electrotechnique

cgs: A system of units in which the centimeter-gram-second are the units for the fundamental quantities length-mass-time

Character: The specific binary number (a pattern) and its associated letter, number, symbol, or function in a set of data transmission codes, e.g., the ASCII code

Check Digit: Using an algorithm with one or more data sets to compute a digit, which is used to verify validity of the data set. Under ANSI/ISO specs, the final digit of the individual account number

Chromium Dioxide Tape: A magnetic tape used in audio cassettes, with a coercivity around 600 oersteds

Clock: See Bit & Strobe

Clocking Bits: The all-Zero bit-cells encoded at the beginning and end of a magnetic stripe to permit the read circuit to synchronize at the beginning of a read

CMOS: Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor Logic; logic zero = <1.5 VDC, logic One = >3.5 VDC, and very low current source

Cobalt-Doped: Cobalt modified iron oxide magnetic pigments with intermediate coercivities (500-1600 oersteds)

Coating Thickness, c: The thickness of the magnetic coating applied to the base film. Magnetic stripe coatings range in thickness from 170 to 650 microinches with a preponderance of coatings being approximately 400 microinches thick. In general, thin coatings give good resolution at the expense of reduced output; thick coatings give a high output at the expense of degraded resolution

Coercive Force: The demagnetizing force required to reduce the induction to zero. Erroneously used as the maximum demagnetizing force required to erase a magnetic stripe, i.e. that for a fully saturated material

Coercivity (Hc ) : A term for various demagnetizing fields measured in oersteds or ampere-turns per meter. The intrinsic coercivity mHc is the demagnetizing field required for zero induction on a B-H plot, i.e., the coercive force. The Remanent coercivity rHc is the demagnetizing field required to produce zero remanence after its removal. All three of the above coercivities are similar in magnitude

Cold Peeling: A method of applying the magnetic stripe to a card; the magnetic material is peeled from the tape without heat and then laminated to the card

Compensation: The ability of a reader decode circuit to correct for jitter in order to yield a valid decoded bit- string during reading a magnetic stripe

Conversion (Converters) : A general class of manufacturers who convert plastic and paper stock for a variety of end uses, including those who manufacture cards, badges, tickets and forms containing a magnetic stripe

Core: (a) The central material layer, usually PVC, of a laminated magnetic stripe card on which the graphics are printed before overlay lamination; (b) The high- permeability low-coercivity ring running from the gap through the coil of a read or encode head

Credit Card Size: An ID badge or card measuring 2.125″ wide by 3.375″ long by 0.030″ thick; sometimes used for cards whose thickness is different from 0.030″

CSA: Canadian Standards Association

Cupping: Curvature of a stripe in the lateral direction

Curl: The deviation of a card from flat. Can be defined as three types; lengthwise curl, widthwise curl and diagonal curl

Data (IBM) Size: An ID badge or card measuring 2.328″ wide by 3.250″ long

DC Erasure: See Erasure

Debit Card: (a) A card with value encoded on the magnetic stripe, which is re-encoded with a lower value at each use; (b) A magnetic stripe card used with a PIN number to authorize electronic debit of funds from an account

Decibel, db: A dimensionless unit for expressing the ratio of two powers or, more usually, voltages or currents, on a logarithmic scale. If A and B represent two voltages or currents, the ratio A/B corresponds to 20 log10 (A/B) decibels. 1 db represents a difference of approximately 11% between A and B. Other values are:

Ratio:	1	1.4	2	4	10	100	1000
db:	0	3	6	12	20	40	60

Decode: The process which yields a bit-string of Zeros and Ones from the flux reversal patterns on a magnetic stripe during reading

Degaussing: The process of demagnetizing a magnetic material such that its remanent magnetism is zero

Demagnetization Curve: The second quadrant portion of the saturated condition hysteresis loop of a permanent-magnet material (frequently called the B/H curve)

Demagnetizing Force: A magnetic field opposite in polarity to that of a previously magnetized material in such a way that it reduces the remanent induction

Density: See Bit Density

Die Cutter: A punch & die device used to cut a photo or ID material to exact size for insertion into a laminating pouch

Differential Interface: An input/output circuit which uses two transmission lines for each circuit, swinging opposite in polarity for a data bit

Digital Card Head: A read/encode head specifically designed for digital biphase recording on a flat magnetic stripe

Digital Recording: A method of recording in which the information is first coded in a digital form. Most commonly, a binary code is used and recording takes place in terms of two discrete values of residual flux

Digital Decoding: A proprietary decoding technique using a digital computer with clock/counter to predict the current encoded bit-cell based on prior multiple bit- cell history, and to digitally determine whether the current bit-cell represents a 0-bit or a 1-bit

DIN: Deutsches Institut für Normung, Germany’s National Standards Organization

Dispersion: Distribution of the oxide particles within the binder. A good dispersion can be defined as one in which equal numbers of particles would be found in equal, vanishingly small volumes sampled from different points within the coating. The quality of dispersion affects many stripe properties, including orientability, surface smoothness, and sharp waveform definition

Dispersion Effect: The characteristic of an encoded magnetic stripe, due to the action of the encode head fringe field on the stripe’s dispersion in particle coercivities, which produces a read voltage peak waveform of lower amplitude and broader width

Domain, Magnetic: The smallest element of a ferromagnetic material which acts as a permanent bar magnet

Dropout: An imperfection in the stripe leading to a variation in output. The most common dropouts take the form of surface imperfections, consisting of oxide agglomerates, imbedded foreign matter, or redeposited wear products

Dual Gap Head: See Spatial Decoding

Dual Stripe Card: A card containing two separate magnetic stripes, e.g. at the top and bottom or on the front and back of the card

Dynamic Range: The characteristic of a reader defined by the total jitter compensated as a function of read speed

Dyne: The cgs unit of force

EBCDIC: Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code, a 256 character set of 8-bit binary numbers, consisting of alphanumeric, symbol, and control characters, used in some data communications applications

EFTA: Electronic Funds Transfer Association

EIA: Electronic Industries Association

Electromagnet: A device consisting of a current- carrying coil, usually with an iron core, used to produce a magnetic field

Emboss: To produce raised letters and numbers on a PVC card, e.g., the account number and name on a credit card, by mechanical pressure from the back side

Embossing: Initialization of a plastic card by forming characters with a male and female die combination such that the entire plastic substrate is raised in the shape of visible characters. The resulting raised characters can transfer their images to a paper form by the use of an imprinter

emu: Electromagnetic unit, a unit pole in the cgs-emu system of units. The analogous magnetic quantity in the SI system of units has the dimensions Ampere- Turnsxmeters2

Enable: To turn ON; to be active

Encoder: The electromechanical device, which contains a means for measuring distance traveled along a magnetic stripe, used to produce flux reversals at specified locations along the stripe

Encoding: The process of creating flux reversals at specific locations along the length of a magnetic stripe such that the flux reversal pattern represents specific data

Encrypt: Using an algorithm to transform data to conceal its meaning or value

End Sentinel: A defined bit-pattern in an encoding Format, which cannot be used for a data character, and which is encoded on the magnetic stripe immediately following the last data character bit-pattern

Erasure: A process by which a signal recorded on a stripe is removed. Erasure may be accomplished in two ways: in AC erasure, the stripe is demagnetized by an alternating field which is reduced in amplitude from an initially high value; in DC erasure the stripe is saturated by applying a unidirectional field

Erasure Resistance: The ability of a magnetic stripe to resist a signal loss of >15% when brought into intimate contact with a magnetic field. Resistance to a flux of 2000 gauss, for instance, would provide reasonable expectancy of survival in a household environment. See SFD, Coercivity

Erg: The cgs unit of work, equal to one dyne- centimeter

Ferric Oxide: See Gamma Ferric Oxide.

Ferromagnetic Material: Any material that has a permeability substantially greater than 1 and that exhibits magnetic hysteresis properties. Strongly attracted by a magnetic field

Field Separator: A designated character in an encoding character set which is used to separate data fields, and cannot be used for data

Flat Card Printing: Initialization of a card by printing of characters on a substrate surface without disturbing or displacing substrate material, usually using thermal printing techniques

Flux Density (B) : The number of lines of magnetic flux per unit area; the cgs unit is gauss

Flux Reversal: See Flux Transition.

Flux Transition: A location (interface) on the magnetic stripe where the magnetic particles on the two sides of the interface have like poles facing each other, i.e., a South-South or a North-North interface, resulting in a concentration of magnetic flux at the interface

Format: The set of unique bit-string patterns of Zeros and Ones corresponding to the set of data characters used in magnetic stripe encoding; many different data formats are used, the best known being the ANSI/ISO BCD and ALPHA formats

Format Code: Under the ANSI/ISO Track #1 protocol there are two defined formats: Code “A” has the name first, and Code “B” has the account number first; for Track #3, the first two digits identify the data format used

Formatting: The process of applying a format algorithm to the data characters to be encoded in order to produce the binary bit-string encoded on the magnetic stripe

Forward Read: Reading the magnetic stripe starting at the end containing the Start Sentinel

Framing Characters: The Start Sentinel, End Sentinel, and LRC Characters

ftpi: Flux transitions (i.e., reversals) per inch

Full Duplex: : Transmission with echo

Gamma Ferric Oxide: A magnetic pigment (gFe203) commonly used in low coercivity magnetic stripes (285-390 oersteds). The prefix “gamma” (g) distinguishes the ferromagnetic form from the nonferromagnetic crystal structure which is usually referred to as alpha (a)

Gap Depth: The dimension of the gap measured in the direction perpendicular to the surface of a head

Gap, Head: The short section of non-magnetic material at the face of a read or encode head which is in contact with the magnetic stripe during reading or encoding; in practice, essentially the same as an air gap

Gap Length: The dimension of the gap of a head measured from one pole face to the other. In longitudinal recording, the gap length can be defined as the dimension of the gap in the direction of stripe travel

Gap Width: The dimension of the gap measured in the direction parallel to the head surface and pole faces. The gap width of the encode head governs the track width. The gap widths of read heads are made appreciably less than those of the encode heads to minimize tracking errors

Gauss: The cgs unit of magnetic induction, = 1 maxwell/cm2

Gilbert: The cgs unit of magnetomotive force

Gimbal: The head mounting mechanism which permits the head to follow contours on the magnetic stripe without losing contact

Gloss: Specular reflection of light from a surface

Government/Military Size: An ID badge or card measuring 2.625″ wide by 3.875″ long

H: Magnetizing force or field strength; the cgs unit is oersted

Hc: Coercivity

Half-Duplex: Transmission without echo.

Hard Magnetic Material: Any material that exhibits ferromagnetic properties and that has a substantial remanence after exposure to a magnetizing force

Head Pressure: The force per unit contact width with which the head is held in contact with the magnetic stripe

Head, Encode: A device consisting of a solenoidal coil wrapped around a ring of magnetically conductive material which has a short section of non-magnetic material called a gap; the magnetic field produced at the gap is used to create flux reversals in a magnetic stripe

Head, Read: A device similar to and acting in reciprocity to an encode head, such that movement of the head gap across the concentrated magnetic flux at a flux reversal induces a current in the head coil

Head-to-Stripe Contact: The degree to which the surface of the magnetic coating approaches the surface of the head during normal operation of a read or write device. Good head-to-stripe contact minimizes separation loss and is essential in obtaining high resolution

High Coercivity: Different people have different conceptions as to where the line is between “high” and “low” coercivity. The term should not be used in isolation but should be accompanied by a value in oersteds, or used in a context where the dividing line is clearly understood

High Energy: A term coined when co-doped 650 oe. audio tapes were introduced as a cheaper alternative to chrome dioxide. The energy referred to improve output at high frequencies. High energy, when used in magnetic stripe parlance, does not imply more output. The term is now misused as a synonym for high coercivity and its use should be discouraged

Hot Stamping: (a) A method of applying the magnetic stripe to a card; adhesive is applied to the magnetic material on a tape, and the magnetic material transferred from the tape to the card with a heated roller; (b) similar to (a), except used to transfer ink or foil to cards for printed images

Hub: The center cardboard or plastic part of a roll of tickets or magnetic stripe tape

Human Factors: Generally, a read malfunction caused by operator error rather than media or equipment causes

Hysteresis: The property of a material wherein its condition at any instant depends upon its preceding condition; the failure of the magnetism to retrace its path as the field H varies

Hysteresigraph: A device used to plot the B-H hysteresis loop for a magnetic stripe or magnetic tape

Hysteresis Loop: A curve showing the cyclic relationship between magnetizing force H and induction B in a magnetic material; also called the B-H curve

I/O: Input/Output; the communications circuit of a device

IATA: International Air Transport Association

IATA Track: Used to refer to the ANSI/ISO Track #1 encoded at 210 BPI density in ALPHA format

ICMA: International Card Manufacturers Association

ID Badge: A magnetic stripe card used for identification, usually supplied unlaminated; the user’s photo, name and data are inserted between the layers and then laminated into a solid card

IEC: International Electromechanical Commission

Indent Print: To embed letters and numbers on a PVC card by mechanical pressure, without embossing the other side

Indent Printing: Initialization of a plastic card by displacing the plastic substrate material on one side with a male die, to form visible characters without disturbing the substrate on the opposite side. Unlike embossing, their images cannot be transferred to a paper form by imprinters

Individual Signal Amplitude: The peak-to-peak amplitude of a signal read voltage signal

Inductance: The inductance of a coil or solenoid is the rate of increase in magnetic flux linkage with increase of current in the coil, where linkage is the product of the flux through the coil by the number of turns; the cgs unit of inductance is the henry, equal to 108 maxwell-turns per ampere of current

Induction, Magnetic (B) : The flux density entering a magnetic material; the cgs unit is gauss, equal to 1 maxwell/cm2

Induction, Residual (Br ) : The induction remaining in a magnetic material when the magnetizing force adequate to saturate the material is reduced to zero

Induction, Saturation (Bs ) : The induction at the largest magnetization possible in a magnetic material

Initialization: (a) Encoding the timing track on a dual stripe card; (b) Placing unique cardholder data on a card such as encoding the magnetic stripe, embossing, or printing on a card before issuing it to the cardholder; (c) Same as (b) except it may be general data such as the initial prepaid amount value on a debit card

Intensity of Magnetization: The number of “unit poles” per unit of area

Iron Oxide: See Gamma Ferric Oxide

ISO: International Standards Organization

ISO 31/V: ISO Standard Specification for Quantities, Units and Symbols, Part 5. Electricity and Magnetism

ISO 7810: Identification Cards – Physical Characteristics

ISO 7811-1: Identification Cards – Recording Technique Part 1: Embossing

ISO 7811-2: Identification Cards – Recording Technique Part 2: Magnetic Stripe

ISO 7811-3: Identification Cards – Recording Technique Part 3: Location of Embossed Characters on ID-1 Cards

ISO 7811-4: Identification Cards – Recording Technique Part 4: Location of Read-Only Magnetic Tracks – Tracks 1 and 2

ISO 7811-5: Identification Cards – Recording Technique Part 5: Location of Read-Write Magnetic Track – Track 3

ISO 7811-6: Identification Cards – Recording Technique Part 6: High Coercivity Magnetic Stripe

ISO 7812: Identification Cards – Numbering System and Registration Procedure for Issuer Identifiers

ISO 7813: Identification Cards – Financial Transaction Cards

ISO/IEC 10373: Identification Cards – Test Methods

JIS: Japanese Industrial Standard, published and translated into English by Japan Standards Association

Jitter: The flux reversal spacing variation on a magnetic stripe, whether real or apparent; if the reversal is improperly placed on the stripe, it is called encoded jitter; jitter resulting from speed changes during the read is called acceleration jitter; jitter resulting from read circuit changes with amplitude or frequency is called phase jitter

Keepe: A soft magnetic material temporarily added to a magnetic circuit to form a closed circuit

Knee Ratio: A value calculated directly from BH curve (VSM) used by some media manufacturers to evaluate magnetic stripe performance = Hc X Br divided by the area under the BH curve in the upper left hand quadrant. Its maximum value of 1 represents ideal performance

Lamination: (a) A method of applying magnetic stripe tape to a card; adhesive is applied to the film side of the tape, and the entire tape with magnetic material is bonded to the card; (b) A method of fabricating cards, built up of several layers of material with thin sheets of adhesive in between and bonded under heat and pressure; (c) See Cold Peel

Laminator: (a) A device with dual, heated, spring- loaded rollers through which an ID badge is processed to laminate the layers into a solid card; (b) A flat platen press using controlled heat-pressure-cooling cycles to laminate multiple layers into a solid sheet

Lateral Direction: Across the width of the stripe

Leading Zeros: Clocking bits before the Start Sentinel

Lead Screw: A device consisting of a threaded shaft and moving carrier (for head or card) such that the encode head moves equidistant intervals along the stripe for each complete rotation of the shaft

Lecithin: A fatty acid ester, found in egg yolk and soy beans, used as a surfactant

Left Hand Reader: (a) Swipe-Type: with the reader slot pointing away from you, the magnetic stripe is to your left as you push the card through the reader; (b) Insert Type: with the reader slot horizontal and the magnetic stripe facing up, the stripe is on your left as you push the card into the reader. Most readers are left hand units. For right hand reader, the stripe is located to your right in the above definitions

Lepidocrocite: An iron oxide mineral (Fe203.H20) used to make magnetic pigments

LGAI: Laboratory General D’Assaigs Investigacions, Spain’s National Test Laboratory

Linkage: The product of the flux through a coil by the number of turns in the coil; the cgs unit is maxwell- turns

Line of Flux: A term used to describe magnetic flux; 1 line of flux = 1 maxwell

Lithography: A printing process using a metal plate on which the image area is ink-receptive and the blank area is ink-repellent

Longitudinal Direction: Along the length of the stripe

Low Coercivity: Usually refers to 300 oersted magnetic stripe initially used on ANSI/ISO Standard ID cards. However, usage of the term can be misleading, see High Coercivity

Low Energy Stripe: This term should not be used, see High Energy. If in doubt as to what it means, question the user of the term

LRC Character: Longitudinal Redundancy Check; an encoded bit-pattern following the End Sentinel in some encoding protocols to check for bit errors in the message, including the start/end sentinels, data, and field separators

Lug Pouch: An unlaminated ID badge with a laminated strip (lug) along the hinge edge, into which a prepared ID card (or photo) is inserted and laminated

Magnet: A piece of ferromagnetic material having a North Pole and South Pole, with magnetic flux emanating from the North Pole and terminating at the South Pole. The elemental magnet is called a bar magnet

Magnet Circuit (closed) : A path of magnetic material without an air gap. If a magnetic conductor extends from one pole of a magnet, or solenoid, around to the other pole, and for the solenoid runs clear through it, the magnetic flux is largely concentrated in the conductor and is greater in total amount than if the flux were entirely in air; even a short air gap reduces the flux considerably

Magnetic Coating: See Magnetic Stripe

Magnetic Conductor: A soft ferromagnetic material, such as iron, which has high permeability, low coercivity, and high saturation induction

Magnetic Field: A region in which magnetic lines of flux or force occur

Magnetic Field Strength (H) : The magnitude of the force in free space that would be exerted on a unit magnetic pole; the cgs unit is oersted, equal to 1 maxwell/cm2

Magnetic Flux (F) : The total quantity of lines of flux that exist in a given area; the cgs unit is maxwell

Magnetic Line of Force: An imaginary line representing the points in a magnetic field that produce the same force on a unit magnetic pole; 1 line of force = 1 maxwell

Magnetic Pole: A region where lines of magnetic flux originate (North) or terminate (South)

Magnetic Stripe: A thin layer of material consisting of oriented ferromagnetic oxide particles, also called pigments, rigidly held together by a resin binder and bonded to a non-magnetic carrier medium such as paper or plastic

Magnetism: That physical phenomenon in which a force is exerted at a distance on matter either from the movement of electrical charges in a conductor or from the presence of magnetic poles in a permanent magnet

Magnetite: Lodestone; an iron oxide (Fe3O4 ) magnetic pigment with low coercivity (400-450 oersteds)

Magnetization: The excess induction in a ferromagnetic material over that for free space; the cgs unit is gauss, equal to 4p poles/cm3

Magnetization Curve: The portion of the first quadrant of a B-H hysteresis loop that shows the relationship between magnetizing force and induction for a magnetic material magnetized from an initially completely demagnetized state

Magnetizing Force (H) : Same as magnetic field strength

Magnetomotive Force: The work required to move a unit pole around a closed magnetic circuit; the magnetic force required to produce one maxwell of flux in a material of unit reluctance; the cgs unit is gilbert, equal to one erg per unit pole

Magneton: A unit of magnetic value equal to 1126 ergs per gauss per gram-atom

Magnetostriction: Change in dimension by certain materials when magnetized

Mark: Telegraph parlance for a logic One

Maxwell: The cgs unit of magnetic flux, the flux through a square centimeter normal to a field of one oersted in a vacuum

Media: The magnetic stripe together with its substrate carrier, e.g., card, badge, ticket, etc

Metal Pigment: Surface treated pure metal magnetic pigments with intermediate coercivities (1400 oersteds)

Microinch: One millionth of an inch (.000001 inch)

Micron: One millionth of a meter, equal to 40 microinches (.00004 inch)

Mil: One thousandth of an inch (.001 inch)

mks: A system of units in which the meter-kilogram- second are the units for the fundamental quantities length-mass-time

Modem: Modulator-demodulator, a device which accepts data, modulates it, transmits it over a communication system (e.g., telephone), and performs the reverse when receiving data

Motorized Reader: Any reader in which the relative motion between the magnetic stripe and the read head is produced by a motor rather than manually

N: North pole of a magnet

NAK: Negative acknowledgment, an ASCII control character advising error in the received signal and requesting a repeat transmission

NBS: National Bureau of Standards (now called NIST)

Nibble: Half a byte, i.e. 4 bits

NIST: National Institute of Standards and Technology

NNI: Netherlands Normalisatie – Instituut, Netherland’s National Standards Organization

Nonmagnetic Material: Any material that is unaffected by a magnetic field. For practical purposes, the permeability of such materials is substantially the same as that of a vacuum

North Pole (N) : The portion of a magnetized object that, if free to move, will point toward the portion of the Earth geographically designated as North; lines of flux emanate from the North pole and enter the South pole

NRZ Effect (Non Return to Zero: The characteristic of an encoded magnetic stripe, in which the read voltage (when read in the same direction as encoded) does not fully return to zero after a flux reversal peak voltage, but instead maintains a non-zero value of the same sign as the prior peak voltage. The NRZ Effect is due to the conjoint action of the encode head fringe field and the remanence tensor of the stripe

OEM: Original Equipment Manufacturer

Oersted: The cgs unit of magnetizing force, equal to one dyne per unit pole, or magnetic field strength, equal to the field at one centimeter from a unit pole

Off-line: See On-Line

On-Line: The magnetic stripe terminal (e.g. ATM, EFT, CAT, POS) is connected via a communications link to the central authorization/transaction computer during the transaction. If the terminal holds transaction data in local memory for later transmission to the central computer, it is said to be off-line

Open-Circuit Magnet: Any magnetic circuit that is not fully continuous, i.e. that contains a nonmagnetic gap

Orientation: The process by which particles are rotated so that their magnetic pole faces tend to lie in the same direction along the length of the stripe

Orientation Field: the magnetic field applied to the magnetic stripe layer while still wet, to orient the magnetic particles longitudinally

Orientation Ratio: The ratio of remanence in the longitudinal direction to the remanence in the transverse direction of a magnetic stripe

Output: The magnitude of the read signal voltage, usually measured at the output of the read amplifier

Overlaminate: See Overlay

Overlay: A thin transparent layer laminated or coated on a magnetic stripe card to protect the printing ink from wear

Overwrite: Re-encode; the data on the magnetic stripe is erased and new data is encoded

Oxide: See Pigment, and Magnetic Stripe

Oxide Build-up: The accumulation of oxide or, more generally, wear products in the form of deposits on the surface of the heads

Oxide Coating: See Magnetic Stripe

Oxide Shed: The loosening of particles of oxide from the stripe coating during use. The term is often used to denote the production of wear products in general

Oxide Thickness: The thickness of the magnetic stripe material

PAN: Primary Account Number

Paper Ticket: Card or ticket with base material made from paper stock

Parity Check: A self-checking code employing binary digits in which the total number of ones (or zeros) in each code expression is always even or always odd. A check may be made for even or odd parity as a means of detecting errors in the system

Parallel Interface: Communication in which an 8-bit byte of data at a time is transmitted

Particle Shape: Gamma ferric oxide particles are acicular needles with an average dimensional ratio of 6 to 1 and magnetic poles at the needle ends. Barium ferrite particles are irregular shaped, thin plates with their magnetic poles on the top and bottom of the plates

Permeability: The ratio of the flux density in a material to the magnetizing force producing it, referenced to the value for a vacuum

Permeance: A term describing the relative ease with which flux passes through a given material or space. The reciprocal of reluctance

Personalization: See Initialization

Pigment: The ferromagnetic particles in a magnetic stripe are usually called magnetic pigments since they are made in a fashion similar to pigments used in the paint and coloring industries; see Gamma Ferric Oxide, Barium Ferrite and Strontium Ferrite

PIN: Personal Identification Number, a 3 to 6 digit number encrypted in the magnetic stripe encoding on a financial card, which the cardholder must enter on a keyboard before the card reader system will process the transaction; equivalent to an electronic signature

Polarity: The direction of the magnetic field about a magnet, determined by the location of its North and South poles; every magnet has two equally stable polarities, obtained by interchanging its poles

Polyester: A plastic material frequently used for ID badges, access control cards, and tickets; more expensive but stronger than PVC; cannot be embossed and requires higher laminating temperatures

POS: Point of Sale. The term also refers to two types of terminals used in retail stores: (a) A terminal with magnetic stripe reader, keyboard, display and autodialer modem, connected to the telephone network and used for on-line credit/debit authorization; (b) A more complex terminal including the above features less modem, connected to a host computer, which handles all transaction processing including item price look-up, data collection, and credit/debit authorization

POT: Point of Transaction; see POS

Pouch: The unlaminated outer layer of an ID Badge, usually polyester, between which the paper core is placed for lamination

Pre-Paid Card: A card with value encoded on the magnetic stripe, which is re-encoded with a lower value at each use

Precursor Effect: The characteristic of an encoded magnetic stripe in which the read voltage exhibits a secondary peak (of the same sign as the prior flux reversal peak voltage) immediately before the voltage reversal for the subsequent peak. The Precursor Effect is due to the conjoint action of the encode head fringe field and the remanence tensor of the stripe

Print-through: The phenomenon in magnetic recording tape where a strongly magnetized layer changes the magnetization of an adjacent layer in the reel of tape; not a problem in magnetic stripe technology

Profile: The deviation of the magnetic stripe surface from flatness; a positive profile is convex, and a negative profile is concave

Protocol: A set of definitive directions that must be followed if the result is to be acceptable for a given purpose

PTB: Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, the German standards laboratory

PVC: Polyvinylchloride, the plastic most commonly used for credit/debit cards; less expensive but shorter life than polyester; can be embossed and requires lower laminating temperatures

Quality: The degree to which a product meets the specifications

Reader: The electromechanical device used to extract data from a previously encoded magnetic stripe

Reading: The process of detecting the flux reversals as one moves along the length of a previously encoded magnetic stripe

Real-time: Data is outputted as it is being read from the magnetic stripe, i.e. at a varying rate with manual readers; opposite of buffered

Reciprocity, Electromagnetic: Electric current moving through a conductor produces a magnetic field about the conductor; reciprocally, a conductor moving through a magnetic field will have a current induced in it

Reference Card: An international standard magnetic stripe card designed as RM7811/2, supplied and certified by PTB, with the stripe made from certified SRM 3200 tape

Reference Tape: A tape used as a reference against which the performances of other tapes are compared. The use of a reference tape is necessary in specifying most performance characteristics because of the difficulty of expressing these characteristics in absolute terms

Reference Signal Amplitude: The maximum average read signal amplitude of the PTB standard Reference Card corrected to the NIST master standard tape

Reformatting: The process of applying an inverse format algorithm to the binary bit-string resulting from a magnetic stripe read in order to extract the encoded data characters

Reliability: The degree to which a product maintains specified quality under operating conditions

Reluctance: The relative resistance of a material or space to the passage of flux. The reciprocal of permeance

Reluctivity: The reciprocal of permeability

Remanence: The magnetic flux density that remains in a magnetic circuit after removal of applied magnetomotive force

Remanence Tensor: The property of a magnetic stripe, resulting from the Effective Coercivities of individual magnetic particles and the way in which they are laid down, which determines the remanence vector resulting from an encoding process

Remanence Vector: The direction and magnitude of the magnetic dipole at a point in an encoded magnetic stripe

Resolution: (a) The degree to which the distance between differing states of magnetization recorded along a stripe can be reduced and these states still be usefully distinguished on reading; (b) ratio of the output signal amplitude at the 500 flux transitions per inch (FTPI) to the output signal amplitude at 200 FTPI

Retentivity (Br /Bs ) : The ratio of the residual induction to the saturation induction of a magnetic material; also called Squareness Ratio

Reverse Read: Reading the magnetic stripe starting at the end containing the End Sentinel

Right Hand Reader: See Left Hand Reader

RM: Reference Material, the German PTB analog of the NIST SRM

Roll-On Stripe: See Hot Stamping

RS-232-C: An EIA Recommended Standard interface defining data and control circuits, for use between data terminal equipment (i.e., computers) and data communication equipment (i.e., modems) using serial binary data interchange; a subset of the standard is widely used for communication between any two types of data processing equipment

RS-422-A: An EIA Recommended Standard for differential interface communications

RS-449: An EIA Recommended Standard interface, essentially an expansion of the RS-232-C interface with additional control circuits

RS-485: An EIA Recommended Standard for data communications using a 32-station multi-drop, addressable network

S: South pole of magnet

Saturation: A condition where all the available elementary magnetic domains in a ferromagnetic material are aligned in substantially the same direction

SCIA: Smart Card Industrial Association

Screen (Silk Screen) : A stencil printing process using a silk, organdy, plastic or steel screen with pervious printing areas and impervious nonprinting areas

Self-clocking: That property of biphase which permits encoded magnetic stripes to be read at different speeds; the Ones frequency is always twice the Zeros frequency, and the read circuit need only sync on a string of known Zeros to begin reading at any speed

Serial Interface: Communication in which a single data bit at a time is transmitted

Separation Loss: See Spacing Loss

Separator: See Field Separator

SFD (Switching Field Distribution) : A measure of the spread of individual particle coercivities determined by differentiating the B-H hysteresis loop. A figure of 0.2 implies a gaussian distribution of 20% of particles below and 20% above the nominal quoted coercivity. SFD is zero for completely uniform particles

Shaft Encoder: A device with a wheel in continuous contact with a magnetic stripe such that a pulse is generated by the device at equidistant intervals of stripe movement

Shield: A soft magnetic material used to prevent the passage of magnetic flux between regions

Shunt: A soft magnetic material used to by-pass, divert, or redirect the magnetic flux from the air gap of a magnet

SI: Système International d’Unités, a system of units based on meter-kilogram-second (mks) and the Ampere-Turn, i.e. mks-A

Skimming: To copy the magnetic stripe encoding from one card to the stripe on another card; also called bit- copying

Slot Reader: See Swipe Reader

Slurry: The mixture of magnetic particles dispersed in a liquid to facilitate deposition and orientation on a substrate such as tape, card, or ticket

Solenoid: An electrical conductor wound into a cylindrical coil; when electric current flows through the coil, the magnetic field about the solenoid is similar to that about a bar magnet

Soft Magnetic Material: Any material exhibiting ferromagnetic properties but having a remanence that is substantially zero after exposure to a magnetizing force

South Pole (S) : The portion of a magnetized object that, if free to move, will point toward the portion of the Earth geographically designated as South; lines of flux emanate from the North pole and enter the South pole

Space: Telegraph parlance for a logic Zero

Spacing Loss: The loss in output that occurs when the surface of the coating fails to make perfect contact with the surfaces of either the write or read head; the read signal decreases exponentially with distance between gap and stripe

Spatial Decoding: A proprietary decoding technique using a dual gap read head, with the gaps spaced for a specific encoding density, such that the sequence of flux reversals detected at the two gaps determines whether the current encoded bit-cell represents a 0-bit or a 1-bit

Specific Magnetization: The magnetization per unit mass of a material; the cgs unit is poles/gram (or emu/gm)

Spiking: A high spot at the edge of a magnetic stripe caused by material “squirt-out” in hot stamping

Squareness Ratio: Same as retentivity

SRM 3200: Standard Reference Material Number 3200, a secondary standard magnetic tape supplied by the National Bureau of Standards (now National Institute for Standards and Technology) and certified for signal amplitude output

Standards: Usually refers to the ANSI/ISO Standards for financial cards, which apply to the magnetic stripe media only, and not to encoding and reading equipment

Start Sentinel: A defined bit-pattern in an encoding format, which cannot be an all-Zeros pattern, and which is encoded on the magnetic stripe immediately preceding the first data character bit-pattern

Strobe: See Bit & Strobe

Strontium Ferrite: A magnetic pigment, SrFe, commonly used in high coercivity magnetic stripes. (700-4000 oersteds)

Subinterval: The bit cell divided by two.

Substrate: The material on which the magnetic stripe is deposited

Surface Asperities: Small, projecting imperfections on the surface of the coating that limit and cause variations in head-to-stripe contact

Surface Profile: The average deviation of the magnetic stripe surface from a straight line, measured in micro-inches per tenth of an inch of width

Surface Roughness: The average surface irregularity of the magnetic stripe in both the longitudinal and transverse directions, measured in micro-inches

Surfactant: Surface active agent; a substance which alters interfacial tension, e.g., wetting agent, dispersing agent, used in magnetic stripe slurries

Susceptibility: The ratio of the intensity of magnetization to the magnetizing force, referenced to the value for a vacuum

Swipe Reader: A manually operated reader with a long narrow channel (slot) through which the magnetic stripe edge of the card is pushed

T&A: Time and Attendance systems or applications

Tape Transfer Process: The magnetic stripe material on a tape specifically made for the purpose is transferred from the tape to a card or substrate by laminating, hot stamping, or cold peeling methods

Telescoping: The deviation from flat of a roll of tickets or magnetic tape, where the center hub is displaced from the roll

Tesla: The SI unit of magnetic flux density, equal to 104 gauss

Thermal Ticket: Card or ticket with one or both sides coated with a thermal sensitive coating

Thermal Transfer: See Hot Stamping

THRIFT: Thrift Industry (Savings and Loans, Credit Unions, etc.)

THRIFT Track: Used to refer to the ANSI/ISO Track #3 encoded at 210 BPI density in BCD format

Tilt: See Zenith Error

Timing Mark/Hole: A mark or hole on the ticket which is sensed by a detector. Used to detect the position of a card in a printer or encoder (usually before cutting ticket)

Timing Track: A pattern of flux reversals encoded on a magnetic stripe track other than the data track, used to generate the required pulses during encoding of the data track

Top-of-Form Mark: A mark used to detect the top of a card or ticket (usually for printing or for cutting)

Track: A strip of specified width and location running the length of the magnetic stripe on which data is encoded. ANSI/ISO standards define three track locations for the magnetic stripe on credit/financial cards, called Track 1, 2 and 3; the tracks are 0.110″ wide, with Track 1 closest to the card edge

Track Spacing: The distance between the center lines of adjacent tracks

Trailing Zeros: Clocking bits following the End Sentinel-LRC

Triplex: A material comprising a sandwich of paper- plastic-paper

Triplex Ticket: Card or ticket with a base material made from Triplex stock

TTL: Transistor-transistor-logic; logic Zero = <0.8VDC, logic One = >2.4VDC, and will source 1.6 mA

Unit Poles: A fictitious concept used to assign values to the intensity of force exerted between two magnetic bodies in free space and divorced of any association with a pole of opposite polarity in the same body; the cgs unit pole (emu) is the quantity of magnetism wherein two such poles separated by one centimeter repel each other with a force of one dyne. The mks-A and SI system of units replace this concept with current flowing in a coil, i.e. Ampere-Turns

USNC: U.S. National Committee for IEC

Viscosity: A liquid’s resistance to flow resulting from the combined effects of adhesion and cohesion

Vibrating-Sample Magnetometer, VSM: A device for determining the magnetic properties of a sample of magnetic material by vibrating it in a magnetic field and measuring the emf induced in search coils located close to the sample. The VSM is particularly useful in determining the specific magnetic moment of oxides and the oxide loading of high coercivity stripes, since it can be designed to provide much higher magnetizing field strengths (10,000 oersted or more) than can be conveniently obtained in a B-H meter

Wear: Mechanical alteration of the magnetic stripe and of the read/encode head resulting from the motion of the head along the stripe

Wearability: The degree to which a product maintains reliability for a rated life

Web: A continuous roll of paper or plastic being manufactured, printed, or processed in a machine

Weber: The SI unit of total flux, equal to 108 maxwell

Wet Coating: A method of applying the magnetic stripe slurry directly to the finished card, either by printing or extruding

Write: Same as encoding

Zenith Error: Tilting of Head. The change in perpendicularity of the head relative to the plane of the magnetic stripe

Appendix A – Registered Trademarks

MagStripeTM – Is a registered trademark of American Magnetics Corporation

PermaCodeTM – Is a registered trademark of Sillcocks Plastics Intl. Inc. (Secure Image)

ValuGardTM – Is a registered trademark of Rand McNally

WatermarkTM – Is a registered trademark of THORN EMI plc

Watermark MagneticsTM – Is a registered trademark of THORN EMI plc

XiShieldTM – Is a registered trademark of Xico Inc

XSECTM – Is a registered trademark of XTEC™ Inc

Appendix B – ASSOCIATIONS AND STANDARDS ORGANIZATIONS

AAMVA: American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators 4200 Wilson Blvd., Suite 1100 Arlington, VA 22203-1800 USA Tel: (703) 522-4200 Fax: (703) 522-1553

BA: American Bankers Association 1120 Connecticut Ave NW Washington, DC 20036 USA Tel: (202) 663-5000 Fax:(202) 828-4535

Cedex 7 92049 Paris La Defense Acces: La Defense 2 Parking Les Corolles Tel: +(1) 42 91 55 55 Telex: AFNOR 611 974 F Telecopie: +(1) 42 91 56 56

AIM, Inc. 634 Alpha Drive Pittsburgh, PA 15238 USA Tel: (412) 963-8588 Fax: (412) 963-8753

ANSI: American National Standards Institute 1430 Broadway New York, NY 10118 USA Tel: (212) 642-4938

APACS: Association for Payment Clearing Services, U.K.’s National Standards Organization for transaction cards (replacing BSI – British Standards Institute) Mercury House Trinton Court 14 Finsbury Square London EC2A-1BR Tel: +44 71 711 6200 Fax: +44 71 256 5527

APTA: American Public Transit Association 1201 New York Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20005 USA Tel: (202) 898-4000 BSI: British Standards Institute 2 Park Street London W1A 2BS England Tel: +44 1 629 9000

CBEMA: Computer and Business Equipment Manufacturers Association 1250 Eye Street NW, Suite 200 Washington DC. 20005 USA Tel: (202) 737-8888 Internet: x3sec@cbema.org

CEN: Comité Européen de Normalisation (European Committee for Standardization) Rue de Stassart 35 B-1050 Brussels, Belgium Tel: +32-2-519-68-71 Fax: +32-2-519-69-19

CENELEC: Comité Européen de Normalisation de lectrotechnique Central Secretariat Rue de Stassart 35 B-1050 Brussels, Belgium Tel: +32-2-519-68-71 Fax: +32-2-519-69-19

CSA: Canadian Standards Association 178 Rexdale Blvd. Rexdale, Ontario Canada, 9W 1R3 Tel: 416/747-4000 Fax: 416/747-4149

DIN: Deutsches Institut fü r Normung, Germany’s National tandards Organization. Burggrafenstrasse 6; D-1000 Berlin 30 Tel: +49 30 2601-1 Telex: 184 273 din d Telefax: +49 30 2601-231

EFTA: Electronic Funds Transfer Association 1421 Prince Street, Suite 310 Alexandria, Virginia 22314 Tel: 703-549-9800 Fax: 703-683-7614

EIA: Electronic Industries Association 2001 Eye St. NW Washington, DC 20006 USA Tel: (202) 457-4900 TWX: (710) 822-0148

IATA: International Air Transport Association IATA Centre Route De L’Aeroport 33 PO Box 672 CH-1215 Geneva 15 Airport Switzerland Tel: +022-799-2525 Telex: 415586

ICMA: International Card Manufacturers Association 24-C Washington Road. Princeton Junction, NJ 08550 Tel: (609) 799-4900 Fax: (609) 799-7032

IEC: International Electromechanical Commission 11 West 42nd St. New York, NY 10036 USA Tel: (212) 642-4936

ISO: International Standards Organization Case postale 56, CH-1211 Geneve 20, Switzerland JIS: Japanese Industrial Standard ( published and translated into English by Japan Standards Association.) 1-24 Akasaka 4 Minato-ku, Tokyo 107 Japan

LGAI: Laboratory General D’Assaigs Investigacions, Spain’s National est Laboratory. 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, SPAIN Tel: +34-3-691-92-11 Fax: +34-3-691-59-11

NBS: National Bureau of Standards (now called NIST) Gaithersburg, MD 20899 USA Tel: (301) 975-2000

NIST: National Institute of Standards and Technology Gaithersburg, MD 20899 USA Tel: (301) 975-2000

NNI: Netherlands Normalisatie – Instituut, Netherland’s National Standards Organization. P.O. Box 5059 2600 6B Delft, Netherlands Tel: +31 15 690 390 Fax: +31 15 690 190

PTB: Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, the German standards laboratory. Lab. 1.41, Bundesallee 100 D-38116 Braunschweig, Germany. Tel: +49 531 5920

SCIA: Smart Card Industrial Association. 6101 Stevenson Ave. Alexandria, VA 22304 USA Tel: (703) 461-2307 SI: Système International d’Unités. Case Postale 56 CH-1211 Geneve 20, Switzerland

THRIFT: Thrift Industry (Savings and Loans, Credit Unions, etc.) USNC: U.S. National Committee for IEC ANSI-USNC Department 11 West 42nd St. New York, NY 10036 USA Tel: (212) 642-4936

APPENDIX C – UNIT CONVERSION FACTORS

To convert CGS-emu to SI, multiply by the conversion factor, C.

Quantity	Symbol	Cgs-emu	Conversion factor, C	SI
Magnetic Flux Density	B	Gauss	10-4	Tesla
Magnetic Flux	f	Maxwell	10-8	Weber
Magnetomotive Force	mmf	Gilbert	10/4p	Ampere-Turn
Magnetic Field	H	Oersted	103/4p	Ampere-Turn/m
Magnetization	M	emu/cm3	103	Ampere-Turn/m
Magnetization	4pM	Gauss	103/4p	Ampere-Turn/m
Specific Magnetization	s	emu/g	1	Ampere-Turn xm2/kg
Magnetic Moment	m	emu	10-3	Ampere-Turnxm2
Susceptibility	c	dimensionless	4p	dimensionless
Permeability	m	dimensionless	4p x 10-7	dimensionless

[1] http://www.aimglobal.org/technologies/card/msglossary.asp

A Strategic View and Application Exploratory

Author: R. Yurkovic
Created July 2005
Version 2.2    Updated November 10, 2005
Uniprise: Innovation Lab

Solutions and Innovation from the Convergence of Service Opportunities, Consumer’s Concerns, Medical Benefits, and RFID Technology

This document reviews advanced uses of the PHR beyond its present use of holding personal health information on a computer system.

The primary purpose of a personal health record is to hold essential health and medical information about a person. Such information is described as: allergies, identification, medical history, major illness, medications, infectious diseases, immunizations, health maintenance, devices, eye information, documents, and family medical history. Children records may contain birth date and growth and development information.

Many PHR’s are kept on paper by consumers with 42% of consumers keeping a PHR. 84% of consumers think a PHR is a good idea. Only 15% of consumers think that insurance companies are a good place to host online PHR’s. Electronic PHR’s provide quick access and updating through electronic systems. Consumers, physicians, hospitals, insurance companies, and the government believe they should hold or host the online PHR. Online PHR services and software applications are increasing in popularity and promoting their benefits to use their solution. The market is at a young stage with all solutions in play.

Extensible PHR

If we extend the main purpose and use of the PHR in its present form to include other services, such as real time medical information transference, location and tracking solutions, wellness application solutions, identity solutions, and financial solutions, we create an extensible PHR that is more of a Personal Life Device or PLD. The PLD is always with the owner so that these new solutions become a necessary tool; much like the wallet or pocketbook is today. It becomes an electronic recording device and communication device that is able to determine and communicate its location.

PHR LOCATION AND ACCESS

The exact location of where the PHR should be is controversial. Many want to own the information and the location where it is stored, such as the government, physicians, hospitals, insurance providers, and consumers. It seems reasonable that in the beginning, the PHR will be stored at several locations so use scenarios must have the capability to update the PHR at each location to avoid incomplete records, but forces a primary location as the ultimate control point.

Studies show that the consumer wants to own the PHR since it holds their sensitive private medical information. A consumer based location will have the highest adoption rate at the start because of privacy and early logistical issues. However, secondary storage can play a key role if deployed in a way that the primary location remains in the hands for the user with the secondary location adding value for offsite value-added services that focus on wellness. With the PHR location at the physician’s office or hospital, it places additional work on the back offices to maintain the PHR and deliver it quickly if needed by another physician. Such requests for immediate information in a 24×7 environment do not currently fit well in to the back offices work flow making access to a PHR a critical barrier in the event of an emergency. The physicians will require a copy of the PHR as well, but it will be as tertiary storage at least until there is a medical network able to provide immediate 24×7 access.

Online services with 24×7 access enables real time PHR reads and updating. Systems with limited operations, in terms of time, will require a batch processing method making the data several days old and not valuable during an emergency or short term treatment schedule.

MICROCARD – THE ENABLER

A Microcard is an active RFID device with the capability to store data as well as transmit and receive data in a miniature package. Since the Microcard has the capability to send/receive and store data, it can easily synchronize with applications or be read and updated at locations such as hospitals, doctor’s offices, and insurance providers. Insurance providers with online consumer portals have an advantage in that they already communicate with the consumer and are a natural secondary location for consumers to store the information as opposed to PC based applications which cost consumer’s money and are not standardized. All health and life planning information would be in one location on the online portal and the Microcard. As long as the portal service provider offers sticky value added services, integrating PHR’s into the portal will provide consumers a single focal point for Microcard control, access, and storage.

Most RFID devices today are passive devices and used to track inventory in companies such as Walmart and track vehicles on highways for automatic toll charges such as the EZ-Pass service. Ultra Wide Band (UWB) RFID is an active form capable of communicating on its own and is currently being deployed in commercial, industrial, and medical sectors but with a large form factor. Utilizing Parco Merged Media’s new SLE technology enables United to explore many new applications in a portable and personal environment.

MICROCARD COMPONENTS

To utilize the device and support applications in a real time mode, the device must be either wearable or carried on a person. The Microcard has three main components: a micro chip, a thin battery, and an antenna.

Figure 1 – Microcard components

PORTABILITY

Since the Microcard is the size of a grain of rice, it can follow the owner and not just be located on their PC or online, but on their person embedded in a piece of jewelry, watch, or clothing – something the person always has on their possession. Since the chip requires a power source (battery) and an antenna for transmit and receive functions, it cannot be inserted underneath the skin at this time. The packaging can have the form factor of a standard credit card or take the shape of a piece of jewelry that conforms to holding all three components.

Figure 2 – Credit Card Form Factor

A health care necklace is applicable for personal use. The battery and micro chip can be stored in a pendant with the antenna using the chain part of the necklace.

A passive RFID device may be inserted underneath the skin as a chip encapsulated in a bio-friendly container. This practice occurs now with pets and may not be acceptable for human use at present, but will probably be the norm in future years.

Having multiple Microcards from various service companies is probable as credit cards companies and other companies using cards begin to utilize this approach. Card decentralization will drive the new market and with a maturing market driving to consolidation as storage grows and card control and functionality becomes more standardized.

SECURITY

Security and privacy must be regarded as barriers to entry due to the perception that tracking capabilities are seen as invasive and storage of confidential information can be extracted easily. Incentives must show value in many areas to ease these fears. Tracking applications can cause concern for privacy, but the benefits of locating lost children and injured people during a catastrophic event as well as financial and health incentives will probably out weigh the concerns in the long run. If lost or stolen, a signal could be sent from a remote administration location to either locate the Microcard or disable/destroy it thus protecting the information contained within it from falling into the hands of others. The Microcard uses encryption to store data and be as strong as NSA standards.

POSSIBLE EXTENSIBLE PHR SOLUTIONS

The PHR is truly personal. It would hold the more current information regarding a person’s health and well being. If an emergency arises, the PHR on a Microcard could be scanned on site or in an ambulance to provide essential information required to provide proper treatment and avoid medical mistakes.

FINANCIAL APPLICATION

It has the capability to be a Personal Financial Record. It also has the capability to hold financial data such as credit/bank codes, retirement data, and personal/family investment data. The Microcard will probably be the new credit card of the future. It can hold many credit cards in one Microcard. The added capability of storing and accessing additional financial information offers unique applications to a using fro general banking and investment portfolio management. With biometric data in the form of fingerprints and a personal photo included on the Microcard, identity theft is minimized. With appropriate online applications, the user can also manage their investment portfolio through an ATM or Kiosk device in a secure manner offering valuable services in locations away from home in real time.

IDENTITY APPLICATION

It has the capability to be a Personal Identity Record. Due to the nature of the secure Microcard technology, it could also be used in identity and security applications since biometric data (photograph, finger prints) can also be stored and used to validate identity. It could aid in smoother, quicker operations for boarding transportation services (airlines and rail) and used in federal service scans at sensitive public and private areas.

During disasters and critical events, identity recognition could aid rescuers in locating and identifying people and their specific needs.

Automatic identification of disabled people could help with deploying applications that provide assistance from automated and personal services such as sounding an identification signal for a service center for the visually impaired, sounding a warning signal for a nearby obstacle or set of stairs, or hailing a porter in an airport for local transportation assistance. Targeted services are provided immediately depending on the specific need.

LOCATION TRACKING APPLICATION

Identity and location services are complimentary. Location services offer tracking capabilities such as tracking people at disaster locations, tracking children during kidnapping events, and tracking friends and family at shopping malls, recreation areas, parks, entertainment events, and resorts. Such companies, such as Disney, would eagerly utilize this capability to extend their services to consumers visiting their parks offering targeted services and promotions. Such services could be controlled by the consumer to opt in or opt out of selected services to ensure privacy and security. While tracking children, alarms could be set that if a child goes beyond an established boundary, an adult is notified immediately to minimize a potential threat.

MEDICAL APPLICATION

With the PHR located on the Microcard, it can be tracked along with other Microcards that may be in the possession of physicians, nurses, hospital staff, equipment, surgical tools, diagnostic equipment, rooms, etc. This practice already occurs in many leading hospitals where digital systems have been deployed. The ability to track and associate Microcards to an event allows an automated tracking system to link and record usage such as a specific patient having an x-ray in a specific room by a specific technician at a specific date and time. This use leads to validation of services used. A system could determine if a patient has been in a diagnostic room and within 2 feet of the diagnostic tool indicated that the equipment was used so a log of the activity would be generated. Small RFID chips are presently used to track surgical instruments, people, and diagnostic equipment. They are also applied to patients in the area of proposed surgery to validate the identity of the person and the correct body area that is to be treated in a surgical procedure, thus reducing medical errors.

Microcard Data Model

• Card OS
• Logging, alerts, and control
• Identity and security
• User demographics
• PHR data
• Insurance plan data
• Financial data
• Life and tracking data
• EMR data
• Medical multimedia data
• Expansion (future)

NEW SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES FOR OTHER SECTORS

The advanced capabilities of the Microcard will stimulate new services and faster adoption if available in other industry sectors. It can ultimately become the new electronic wallet or pocket book since it can hold information about:

• Identity: Drivers license, vehicle registration, biometric data
• Currency: Bank cards
• Services: Health card, frequent flyer, hotel/resort card, shopping cards
• Security: Passkeys, access codes
• Personal data: Contacts, lists, business cards
• Location: Wayfinding, entertainment
• Special needs: Medical alerts, donor

Adding display capabilities to the Microcard provides new service opportunities to view stored data on demand such as shopping lists and to do lists. Microcards would be able to extract stored media upon demand for playback to a headset. Libraries could transfer electronic books and magazines to Microcards with a built in time limit for access.

e-cash

Microcards could have a storage area for electronic petty cash purposes in which the consumer “fills the card” with $100 and uses that e-cash to pay for items (working like a local debit card). Imposing limits to the balance can provide spending parameters for children or activities and can provide a means to deposit financial incentives and rewards to an e-cash account.

INDUSTRY DISRUPTER – TECHNOLOGY ENABLER

The EMV (Europay, MasterCard, Visa) is adopting the smart card or RFID technology quickly and will replace magnetic stripe cards in the near future. EMV is the largest distributor of credit cards globally. If the financial community moves in this direction, all others will follow their lead. The cost of Microcards will be driven to a commodity price level within one year enabling many new and existing services to adopt a portable, micro sized communicating storage agent.

The magnetic stripe card is easily read and not secure. It is limited in application and capability. Its large size limits it use to applications that require storage and as a result, many people do not carry all of their service oriented magnetic stripe cards with them all the time.

THE PHR APPLICATION SYSTEM

If UHG is to pursue the portable PHR concept, we need a reliable, easy to use PHR system in the backend. Carekey does not provide this presently. The idea of a non-branded web based application doesn’t seem like it is an “insurance company” product and may work because many people associate the solution as a personal application. Since studies indicate that only 15% of people believe that an insurance company should hold the PHR, a solution is needed to earn the trust of the consumers. Choosing a vendor to create the web based PHR with an already trusted brand, may quicken adoption and allow UHG to be recognized as a supporter.

WEB SITE – THE CONSUMER FRONT END

The actual website could also be branded with a different domain name like myPHR so it does not seem like the website is an insurance site but more like a sponsored site by a health organization interested in personal health and well-being. This strategy avoids a possible collision with public opinion with people saying they do not want insurance companies to hold the PHR. The primary reason is a lack of trust. Perhaps as the purpose of the PHR is enhanced by taking on new functions for life management, a domain name of MyPLR or MyLifeRecord would work well. These domains are currently available A domain centered on the customer (myhealth.com) is better than one centered on the company (myuhc.com) especially when building trust. It should always be from the perspective of “the customer’s eyes”. Company branding can reside on the pages.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Offer a service with a Microcard that keeps the PHR’s primary location and ownership with the Consumer to avoid early adoption issues.  Promote the PHR’s secondary location be the UHG consumer portal for processing, graphical tracking, alerts, wellness tracking incentives, data management, and access control. UHG focuses more on the well being aspects instead of the medical records aspect, but does both. The secondary location acts as backup, online storage, a control point, wellness manager, and a place for additional applications. Provide access from primary and secondary locations to tertiary locations being the physician’s office, clinics, and hospitals. If the tertiary location cannot obtain access from the primary location, the secondary UHG location is available as a backup. Even without the Microcard, wellness tracking and life management services offer a strong portfolio for the consumer.

For wellness tracking, offer an automated service that tracks and manages employee exercise and activity that enhances employee health in the workplace with incentives. Incentives may include a reduction in insurance plan costs, a reduction in cost for use of workout centers, or accrual of “health excellence points” to be used for purchasing items in a catalog. Voluntary diet tracking may be added to follow trends that affect health and could be aligned to other health indicators such as weight and cholesterol so consumers see the connection for impact.

A very thin client is placed on the consumer’s PC to minimize support, installation, and costs. The thin consumer client could be downloaded and updated directly from the consumer site with its main purpose being a conduit; acquiring and storing data on the Microcard and sending it to the online portal using Web services.

Enhance the PHR’s capabilities to hold life records and not just medical records making it stickier in day to day use. Life records include wellness tracking, alerts, and location services.

Microcard use in consumer applications

Enhanced consumer applications are enabled by Microcard use as demonstrated in the diagram below. In that security is a main issue for adoption and regulatory compliance, Microcards offer many benefits over magnetic stripe cards.

Figure 3 – Application Dependencies

In order to deliver to a forward looking vision with services that align to the consumer, adoption of the Microcard is imperative. Many potential consumer based service applications rely on the Microcard as opposed to a magnetic stripe card. Benefits include:

• Added security and privacy
• Automated processes
• Location and tracking services
• Portable PHR’s
• Enhanced access